The Fifth Quarter Quell: Glacia's Story
by TheEngineeringGames
Summary: For the Fifth Quarter Quell, volunteers have been prohibited. In District Two, this completely changes things because for the first time in years they won't have to prepared tributes. And for Glacia, the chosen volunteer, her chances of proving herself to the District are almost completely gone. But will fate work for her and have her name drawn despite the odds?
1. The Reaping

**Welcome to the 125th Hunger Games!**

 **Just a few things before the story begins. This occurs as if Katniss failed so no District 12. Also, this story is a partner story. While this tells the story of Glacia from District Two, there is another story that follows her district partner Lance. Be sure to check out that story as it will give a different perspective of the same games. And don't worry, the two stories are very different from each other.**

 **I will update the stories on the same day, that way once the games start you can choose which story to read first as there will be some spoilers about what might happen to the other character.**

 **I'll let you begin the story. As always, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. Any comments are good comments.**

 **Let the Games begin!**

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 **Chapter 1:**

The whispers follow close behind me as I make my way into the Victor's Village. They have always followed me. They all snickered at me because I'm the granddaughter of Sylvia Skylar, the only victor in District Two who has lost her mind to the games. It was a different time when Grandma was in the games, only six years after the terrible rebellion happened during the Third Quarter Quell and failed. My grandmother had lived through the rebellion, struggling to survive and protect her two younger sisters as bombings occurred daily and every capable man and woman over the age of 16 was taken away to fight for the Capitol. And when she was reaped, no one dared to volunteer and seem a little too rebellious that soon after the rebellion. So Grandma did what she had been doing for years: survived. I have only seen small clips of those games and Grandma didn't talk very much about them when she was well, but I can understand why she is the way she is now. The games for several years after the rebellion were particularly cruel and my grandmother had to do terrible things to the children of rebels to get the favor of the sponsors and eventually win.

Sylvia wasn't always that way. It was only in the past ten years that with her age, the dementia started and made her experience panic attacks as the disease made her believe she was in the arena again. But to me, she is still the lovable woman who helped raise me. My father has been a member of the Peacekeepers for over twenty years and is always getting moved around to different districts. In fact, I barely view him as family since he was never really there when I was growing up and the last time I saw him was five years ago. But Sylvia is the closest family member I have.

I smile fondly as I recall how much Grandma used to spoil me since I'm her only grandchild. She was only able to do so because of her winnings as a victor and it seems like a cruel twist of fate that the thing that once brought her joy has become a daily source of fear.

Grandma didn't deserve the whispers and rude comments about her that were said around the district. Even here in the Victor's Village around the people Sylvia mentored for and helped bring home, I still get smiles of pity. But she doesn't deserve pity. In my mind, she's the bravest woman I've ever known and I will always defend her. I chuckle as I recall the many times I got into fights with boys twice my size, all over a tiny comment they made towards Grandma. My mother would always scold me for getting bruises but would eventually smile at me defending the woman who took care of both of us.

It wasn't enough for people to make comments about Grandma. When I reached reaping age, the comments started to get directed towards me. 'If you were picked, you would probably go insane before you even got on the train.' 'Good thing there will always be a volunteer. If you got picked, your grandma would go off the rocker when you died in the games.'

I close my eyes as I reach the house we live in, the words echoing in my head. They're a constant reminder of why I have to work so hard to prove not just my worth, but my Grandma's. If I could volunteer and win the games, maybe, just maybe, the whispers would stop. Those comments caused me to head immediately to the training school after my first reaping and beg the instructors to let me in despite being a year older than the starting age. And big surprise, they had refused me. But that didn't stop me because if I got one trait from my father, it's his stubbornness. So every day I would run laps around the school for an hour in the morning. I would spare against trees using branches as clubs and wrestle some of the boys my age as they would leave the academy. After a month of that, they finally took me in. And I had excelled in everything. At least, that was what everyone else thought. When I first started, I had to stay long hours after everyone else had left, needing the practice to catch up on the year I missed. And I was determined to be the best so I would be picked as District Two's volunteer when I was 18.

I might not have reached that point if it wasn't for Bronn, the first tribute Grandma succeeded in bringing home. He won the games ten years after her and was a familiar face when I was growing up. I think he feels indebt to Grandma for saving his life and decided to help me train individually. And if not for that debt, then for the friendship they gained while spending years together mentoring and helping each other get through the pain of their games. With his help and many long hours at the training center over six years, I was at the top of my class and the trainers had chosen me to be District Two's female volunteer for the Fifth Quarter Quell. I knew this honor was hard earned and Damon, the male trainee chosen, worked just as hard as I did. I felt confident that between the two of us, District Two would claim the honor of a Quarter Quell victor.

And I couldn't be more proud to have that honor. I might have even been okay with the thought of Damon winning over me, as long as I helped him get there. What better way to prove myself than by winning one of the biggest Hunger Games? But then, the terrible announcement came about the Quarter Quell and the goal I had worked so hard for every day for the past six years came crashing down.

 _For the 125th Hunger Games, to show that the choices of the rebels to harm the citizens of the Capitol were absolute, no one will be allowed to volunteer in the place of another…_

No volunteers in my final year.

Sure, there was always a small chance that I might get picked. But I hadn't been taking tesserae every year – almost no one in Two did – so my name was only in the bowl seven times. Seven times out of thousands of names.

My dream of proving myself is completely crushed.

I sigh as I open my eyes and return to real life, not wanting to acknowledge that all those years were wasted on not getting the chance to be a tribute. But a morning walk around the district square didn't make the Quarter Quell change so here I am, ready to accept my fate. I unlock the door and head inside, going straight towards the porch in the backyard where Grandma always loves to sit. Being outside seems to have benefits for her health and she seems to have the least amount of panic attacks here. As I approach, I make my footsteps louder – a lesson I quickly learned when I was younger and thought it would be funny to sneak up on her but she ended up punching me accidentally. When she turns and sees that it's me approaching, she starts grinning and holds out a hand to me. I start grinning as I grab her hand and crouch down in front of the chair. "Hi Grandma, how are you today?" I dare not mention that it's Reaping Day, not yet. No need to put her back in those terrible memories until it's time to go to the square. The whispers are always the worst on Reaping Day when she is forced to go on stage in front of everyone.

"Oh, don't talk down to me like I'm a child," she immediately says about my tone of voice and I start chuckling at her sass. Today is clearly one of the good days when she recalls most memories. "I know that it's Reaping Day so of course I'm not well today. But better than some days." She starts frowning and takes a moment to look over my appearance. "What are you doing in those dirty pants and ripped shirt? Go put on that nice dress I picked out for you."

I nod my head before standing up and giving her a kiss on the cheek. She squeezes my hand before letting go. As I walk in to the house, I turn to give her one last look and see her close her eyes, the pain of the memories written on her face. It's not fair that such a brave woman has to be faced with this. I feel a hand on my shoulder and flinch, ready to grab it thanks to my training but quickly realize that it's my mother. Turning away from my grandmother, I look at the woman who I acquired most of my traits from. Her blue eyes are calculating as she gives me a smile, light blonde hair framing her face. Those two characteristics we both received from Grandma and I couldn't be more proud. I always thought these two woman who raised me were beautiful when I was young and I was lucky to turn out like them.

I hug my mom unexpectedly, suddenly feeling overwhelmed about today. This should have been my day of triumph but everything is all wrong. Mother holds on to me tightly, knowing how hard I worked for this. "Glacia, don't be upset about this. Is it really the worst thing ever that you can't volunteer? I know you trained the hardest out of everyone in your year and there is no doubt in my mind that you would have done well in the games. But there is always that chance you wouldn't win. Could you really do that to your grandmother?"

I pull back in her embrace so I can look over my shoulder. Grandma is sitting there peacefully, enjoying the still rising sun and unaware of our conversation. She was the reason I wanted to volunteer but also my biggest reason for doubt. I wanted to believe that I could win the games but there is that chance I wouldn't live. And the thought of putting Grandma through that and possibly making her suffering even worse almost made me turn down the selection by the trainers. Maybe my mother is right and it isn't a bad thing that I can't volunteer this year.

Mother steps back as I turn towards her and she offers a sad smile. I try to return the smile as I walk past her and towards the stairs, knowing that it's up to fate now if I will either be returning here or travelling to the Capitol in a couple hours. When I enter my room, I immediately notice the beautiful sapphire dress hanging from my closet door. This dress is obviously from the days when Grandma was mentoring in the Capitol and one of their favorites for her captivating personality and looks. I slip out of my clothes and carefully put the dress on, not wanting to ruin something so beautiful. When I look in the full length mirror, I'm surprised by how perfectly the dress cinches at my waist, almost as if the dress had been custom made for me and not my grandmother.

"She wanted you to wear that dress when you volunteered so the Capitol would immediately take notice of you," I look in the mirror at my mother as she leans against the doorway. She smiles at me as she walks in the room. "You know, she used to let me try on some of her dresses when I was a child and they were way to big on me." She pauses next to me and puts an arm around my waist and rests her head on my shoulder, barely reaching it with my height. "That dress was always my favorite. It's too bad the Capitol won't ever see you in it."

I frown a little at her comment. Has she already given up that faint hope that it will be my name called? I'm not giving up yet. So I put up the tough front I've adopted all those years ago to make everyone else think I'm not someone to mess with and prepare to face the rest of the district. I raise an eyebrow at my mother as I take a step back from her. "Who's to say they won't see it? There's still that small chance."

I see a small amount of worry flicker through her eyes before she clears her face and nods at me. It's no secret that she doesn't really approve of me wanting to be in the games but will support me no matter what. "You're right. Now let's go show them District Two's next victor."

I can't help but smile a little at that thought as we make our way downstairs before putting my touch face back on. Grandma is sitting in the kitchen waiting for us and when she hears us, she looks up and grins at me. "Oh I knew that dress would be perfect for you!" She grabs my face and jokingly starts pulling my forehead up. "And stop frowning so much, you'll get wrinkles before you're thirty."

I laugh at this, something we have always joked around about for years. I hug her tightly, glad today is one of the days when she isn't living in fear. This is the woman who won the Hunger Games so many years ago and raised me. The woman who I would risk my life for to defend her. "Grandma, you know I love you, right?"

"Of course, sweetie, and I love you too," she responds immediately and kisses me on the cheek. When we step apart, she rolls her eyes a little and holds out her arms to us. My mother and I both loop one of our arms through hers. "Now let's go deal with the idiots who think I still couldn't kick their ass because they trained for their games."

"Mom!" My mother says as we start walking out the door but I just laugh at her brash words. Grandma waves her off as we step out into the Victor's Village and make our way to the village square.

We're all quiet as we make our way into town, all of us realizing that it is Reaping Day and two kids who might have been saved from going to the games thanks to volunteers will now most likely die. I just hope whoever is picked doesn't cry like some of the outer districts since they are representing the district with the most victors.

As we start reaching the crowds, I can see people start to look at us and whisper to their companions. I glare at these people as we pass by while Grandma keeps her head held high and ignores them. I don't know how she can do that but maybe she thinks that she has nothing to prove since she did win the Hunger Games all those years ago.

Before we reach the stage, Bronn approaches us, grinning and holding out his arm excitedly. "There's the gorgeous woman who saved my life!"

Grandma lets go of us and walks over to Bronn, letting him hug her. "Haven't you learned after all these years that flattering isn't going to get you anyway?"

"It got me back to District Two," he replies as he lets go of her and winks. She laughs and hits him lightly on the chest. Those two have had a great bond that only years of mentoring together could create and Bronn is one of the only people who can bring her back to the present and out of her memories. He turns to us and smiles at my mother and nods his head at me, knowing I won't smile now that I'm in public and need to keep up my façade. "Go ahead and get in place for the reaping. I'll get Sylvia on stage."

I nod at him and my mother grasps my hand briefly before starting to walk towards the other adults with children in the reaping. I watch my grandmother and Bronn go to the stage as I make my way towards the Peacekeepers signing the children in. I shake my head as I hear Grandma scold him. "I don't need help walking. I'm losing my mind, not my legs."

I'm glad she's able to joke about that because it really does mean that she's not going to slip into one of those moods where she thinks she's surrounded by mutts or other tributes. Reaping Day would be the worst day for that to happen but it's also one of the days most likely to trigger it.

Soon I reach the front of the line and let the Peacekeeper grab my hand and take the small sample of blood. After so many years of training and getting worse injuries, that small prick feels like nothing. I make my way through the crowd, scowling at anyone getting in my way. A lot of the younger ones quickly move out of the way, knowing my reputation at the training center. I smirk a little, not wanting a full smile, but happy to know that people are a little scared of me and know I should have been the female from Two going to the games this year.

I reach the front of the girls section and stand with my fellow eighteen year olds. Some of them discuss the no volunteers rule for the Quell and I can hear them mention me. I ignore them, knowing I earned that spot and no matter what happens in the Reaping, I was the best girl in District Two. I look over at the boys and my gaze locks with Damon who looks like how I feel right now: angry and disappointed that I can't prove myself. He nods his head once at me and I do that same before turning my attention towards the stage. No point dwelling on what could have been.

Sitting on the stage are District Two's mayor and Capitol escort, Flannery. Directly next to the mayor are the ten living victors. Grandma, being the oldest victor for District Two, sits directly next to the mayor and is wearily looking at the crowd, probably wondering what two children will be chosen against their will. Bronn is next to her, holding her hand comfortingly but still looking weary about the Reaping. Not that I can blame them, they both have seen way too many games occur and mentored many children that never came home. Next is Kat, winner of the 99th games. She's staring out at the crowd, giving all of the children a sharp look. Kat was always one of my favorites to work with at the training center because she didn't put up with any bullshit and worked our asses off. She was the next to believe in me after Bronn since she was the one who reinstated the career system in Two and knows what it's like to not have people believe in her wanting to train. Then of course is Clemont, victor of the 103rd games. His was a favorite for mine to watch since the recreation of a medieval time was wonderful. He was in his element with the swords and who can forget that finale where he arrived at the castle on a dragon. Next to him is one of the only victors who isn't part of the training, Roxanne. She won the 107th games – the year I was born – but I still remember clips of her games. All I remember is that she didn't play the normal way with careers, a strategy that I would never do.

Now the next five tributes I remember their victories. Viola won the 110th and while I don't remember the games since I was three, I do recall how everyone in the district was excited and there were big celebrations. That was my first taste of the rewards that come with winning the games when you were trained. Now Darach and Lysander, those two were something else. Back to back wins in the 114th and 115th games yet they won in completely different ways. Darach won with brute force and continues training tributes that way. Lysander, on the other hand, stayed out of the spotlight and let a tribute from One lead the pack and then outsmarted them all. No other district can claim the back to back win accomplishment since the second rebellion. Those were great years to be living in Two. The last two victors are different since I remember seeing them in the training center before they volunteered. Maylene won five years ago and I looked up to her when I first started training. She combined the methods of our two previous victors and managed to be one of only three people to receive a twelve in training. And Jory won only two years ago. Before he volunteered I got to spare with him a couple times since I was already at the top of my year and could pose a potential challenge to him. He beat me every time so I wasn't really surprised when he won the games. And Jory immediately started training potential volunteers and has proven useful since his games are still fresh in his memory.

I smirk a little as I look at the ten victors. It's good to live in District Two.

The mayor steps up and begins his speech about the creation of Panem, the Dark Days, the Second Rebellion, and the Hunger Games. I try to pay attention to him out of respect but it's the same speech every year. My eyes keep drifting over to the giant ball filled with the slips of female tributes. Where in there are the seven with Glacia Skylar written on them in fancy handwriting? Do I even have a chance of getting picked out of the thousands in there?

Finally, Flannery walks up to the front of the stage and my attention goes right to her. This is the moment when I finally get to know if those years training will get put to use. I glance behind her at the victors as she stops at the microphone. Kat and Bronn are both looking at me, probably hoping my name will get picked since I should have been the tribute. Grandma makes eye contact with me and smiles sadly, making me doubt once again if I should have wanted to volunteer and put her through the pain of watching her granddaughter in the games.

"Well I just love that speech. And I have to say, it is great to be back here in District Two," Flannery smiles out at us and I don't doubt her words. Two is definitely the best district to be in as an escort and the proof is sitting up on that stage. "Now as a reminder, for this very special Quarter Quell, there will be no volunteers." There's some murmurs of dissatisfaction at this since most of the district approves of the career system. "Now, ladies first!"

My heart starts beating fast as Flannery slowly walks to the bowl. This is it. She reaches in and takes her time swirling her hand around, making a show out of picking the name since this is the first time it actually matters what name is on the slip. Finally, she grabs one and I hold my breath as she holds the paper out in front of her delicately and walks back to the microphone. Come on, Flannery, get it over with. "The female tribute from District Two is," she unfolds the paper and I can see her eyes light up in excitement over the name and I pray that it's my name. "Glacia Skylar!"

"Yes!" I cheer briefly in excitement before composing myself. This was exactly what I wanted! Once I have my normal façade on, I start walking towards the stage confidently, knowing every camera is following me and the focus is on me. A small smirk forms on my face as I reach the steps to the stage. I didn't think I would have this moment but I finally have accomplished my dream of being the female tribute from District Two. I make my way up the steps and when I reach the top, my eyes find Grandma and I can see the sadness on her face that she's trying to hide. I very lightly nod at her, trying to tell her silently that I will be alright as I walk up to Flannery.

Our district escort is practically bouncing in excitement and I know it's because she picked the relative of a victor. Or maybe someone told her who the volunteers would have been. Flannery puts an arm around my shoulder and leads me towards the front. "Now isn't this just exciting, our female tribute is related to none other than our own Sylvia Skylar!"

I stand proudly in front of the crowd, knowing I belong up on this stage. I stare out at the boys, wondering who will be joining me as Flannery walks towards the other ball. "Now time to pick the boys!" Some of the younger ones quickly look away when they make eye contact with me and I hope it's because I look menacing. That has always been the plan: look tough and make sure the other tributes fear me.

Flannery picks a slip after taking her time like with mine and eagerly moves to the microphone. She opens the paper and I can't see her expression as she announces the name. "And the male tribute for District Two is… Lance Henderson!"

Henderson… now this is going to be an interesting Quarter Quell. I can hear someone murmuring unhappily on the stage behind me and I know it has to be Maylene Henderson, the older sister of my now district partner. I raise an eyebrow at this development as the crowd shifts around in the seventeen year olds. Eventually I spot Lance who is staring up at the stage in shock. I recognize him from years ago in the training center before he quit, not having the drive to train and compete in the games. And then I started seeing him in the Victor's Village five years ago. He finally starts to move towards the stage after someone shoves him and I smirk a little. His hesitation will be viewed as weakness and if someone is going to sponsor a tribute from District Two, the obvious choice is me. As he makes his way to the stage, he looks around as if he's hoping that someone will volunteer to take his place. Any other year and that would have already happened. I take in his appearance, allowing myself one last time to have the slightest crush on him. Can't really blame me, he's tall, has dark brown hair that looks more golden brown in the sun, and piercing green eyes. The people in the Capitol will surely be fawning over him, but I won't. Not anymore because he is now in the way of me getting home.

And nothing will stop me.

Once he reaches the stairs, Flannery is waving for him to hurry up the stairs. Oh she must be loving this Reaping. Picking two relatives of victors? No other district will have tributes this exciting. Lance gets to the top of the stage and Flannery puts a hand on his back, pushing him over towards me since he's still moving slow and hesitantly. I meet his gaze and can see the fear and uncertainty in his eyes. Flannery stands between us and puts a hand on my shoulder as she faces the crowd. I can see a lot of people are surprised with the choices and quite a few look satisfied. Good. "Well isn't this an interesting Reaping, we now have the brother of our victor Maylene Henderson!" Flannery pauses and Lance glances back at his sister, a pained expression on his face. It's clear he never wanted this fate.

Flannery turns back to the microphone, still smiling. Can't blame her since this is the most drama at one of our Reapings in years. "We have our tributes! Glacia Skylar and Lance Henderson!" Flannery shouts and is answered by a loud round of applause. I smile out at the crowd, taking in this moment and knowing I'll have plenty more when I return as victor.

Flannery motions for us to shake hands and I turn towards Lance. I take his hand, holding it tighter than I need to, wanting to assert myself as being the better choice of tribute. As I shake his hand, I give him a harden look, hoping he'll be willing to fight because I will need him as an ally. He might have been hesitant to walk to the stage but he looks strong and I'll need all the strong tributes from career districts that I can get because who knows how many of us will be old enough to have years of training.

As we're led into the Justice Building, I can see Bronn put a comforting arm around Grandma as she sighs. Roxanne has gotten up to talk to Maylene and probably try to comfort her. I frown a little once we're inside the building and away from the cameras. These games are going to put some strain on the victors as they're forced to choose among themselves which tribute to root for. I can only hope that whoever decides to mentor this year will be someone I've trained with for years.

I'm led into one room and Lance is taken to the room across the hall. The Peacekeepers close the door behind me but it's only a minute before the door opens. Grandma walks in, looking exhausted and I hug her right away before leading her towards the couch. I sit next to her and she takes my hand, holding on tightly as she realizes there is a small possibility this could be the last time we see each other. "Glacia, I know you've been training for this for years. Bronn has told me all about how well you've done and I know you're going to do well in the arena."

I raise an eyebrow at her, knowing she is leaving something out. "And?"

She sighs as she looks at me. I can see in her eyes how years of mentoring tributes has taken her toll on her and hope she's not going to slip in to the bad memories. I don't want my last time with her before the games to be like that. "Just don't get overconfident. The moment you get too confident or trust your allies a little too much is the moment you've lost the games. Those things will be used to bring about your downfall, usually by the tributes you ally with. I've seen it happen many times."

My earlier tough mood fades away as I listen to her advice. She's absolutely right and I will make sure I remember her words in the arena. "I promise I won't let that happen."

"Good," Grandma replies as I lean my head against her shoulder. We're silent for a minute and I close my eyes, almost able to pretend that it's over ten years ago, before the dementia started. "I'm glad I had you wear that dress. You're going to be a Capitol favorite."

I let her words sink in as the door opens and my mother enters. She moves towards the couch quickly and sits down on the other side of me, wrapping an arm around waist. "Oh Glacia, you got exactly what you hoped for. I don't know how you managed that with the odds against you."

I shrug at this, suddenly realize how little time is left with them. I'm solemn as I now realize just how real this is and I'm a little scared. I suppose that's a good thing. Bronn always said that fear will keep you alive. I look up at my mom and can see that she's scared too but is being supportive like always. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Of course, dear," mother replies before kissing me on the cheek. She reaches in to her pocket and pulls out an old ring. She places it in my hand and I look at it closely. I've seen it maybe once or twice when I was younger and all I really know is that it's an old Skylar family heirloom. "That should be your token in the arena. It's an old family heirloom and has been in the family for over 200 years."

I turn over the ring as I look at the large ruby sitting in a gold band. Etched into the surface appears to be some coat of arms. Grandma speaks up next to me, "It's been a long time since I saw that ring."

"Why?" I ask her curiously. I've never heard her talk about this ring.

"Why, you ask?" She laughs a little before answering me. "Because that was my token in my games."

"Oh," I respond as I slip the ring on my left hand. Now that I know my grandmother won with this ring, it feels right to have it with me. And it will be a constant reminder of why I've worked so hard to win the games. "It's perfect."

"I'm glad you think so," Grandma answers sadly as she hugs me close. I can tell she isn't happy about me going to the games and I understand why. But I won't let her fears come to life. I'll return to her.

The doors open and when I see the Peacekeepers enter the room, I feel an overwhelming sadness at the thought of my family leaving me. "I love you both so much," I quickly say and grab on to their hands as they stand up.

"I love you too, dear," mother answers immediately. "Make us proud."

The Peacekeepers haven't moved in yet to remove them and I wonder if they are being respectful because of grandmother and my father. Grandma smiles down and me and holds on to my hand tightly with both of hers. "I love you so much, Glacia. Please come back to me. I don't want to add those memories to the ones that already haunt me."

I nod my head at her, feeling the tears start to form. I quickly blink them away, not wanting to show any weakness. "I promise I'll come home to you."

And with that, my family leaves and I'm left wondering if I'll ever see them again. No, I'm not going to wonder about it. I will make it happen. I won't leave my life up to chance. Winning the games has been my goal for years and I'm going to accomplish that task.

I wipe away the couple tears that threatened to fall as there's a knock on the door. I briefly wonder who it will be before the door opens and Bronn walks in. He smiles at me before chuckling. "I guess it was a good thing we let you enter the training center all those years ago because nothing was going to stop you from being in the games."

"I guess not," I reply lightheartedly. Bronn sits next to me and I smile at him, enjoying his presence like always. "Any last minute advice since I know you won't be going to the Capitol as my mentor?"

He leans back and crosses his arms and he stares at the wall, deep in thought. He eventually turns towards me and shrugs. "There's not very much that I haven't taught you. But I would say watch out for your allies. I would imagine you'll be a good contender for leading the pack which is a dangerous position. Allies could turn against you at any point."

I nod in agreement at this, his words echoing Grandma's earlier. I think back on the other lessons I've learned from the victors and start wondering about them. "This Reaping is going to split the support from the Victors, isn't it?"

Bronn sighs and I know I'm right about this. "It already has. It's different when we pick the volunteers. Those years, everyone agrees on the tributes. But now, we have two tributes that are relatives. How do you pick one to support when their victory means one of your good friends loses a family member?" I start frowning at this, not liking the possibility of me being one of the deaths that upsets people. "But I can tell you this," he adds and I look up at him. He is staring at me and I can tell he still believes in me. "Kat is going to support you. Jory will be torn but I believe he'll support you in the end because he's been helping train you these past two years." I smile about those two victors since they played a big role in getting me to this point. "Lysander will stick with Maylene." I nod at this, knowing he has never been fond of me wanting to learn more brute force over his strategies. "As for Clemont and Viola, I think they're going to stay neutral and offer support and if need be, a shoulder, to whoever needs it."

"And what about Darach and Roxanne?" I ask him curiously, noticing he didn't mention those two victors.

Bronn laughs as the door opens, revealing the Peacekeepers. He stands up and smiles at me, giving me an unexpected hug before heading towards the door. He pauses and turns around to look at me. "You can ask those two on the train."

I shake my head at his lighthearted attitude as the door closes behind him. At least now I know who will be mentoring us. I lean back against the couch, pull my feet up and try to relax. I know I won't have any other visitors. I fiddle with the ring and watch how it reflects the light as I twist my hand. The red of the gem makes me wonder how many tributes had their blood spilt on this ring and how many I would add to that list. The thought starts to make my stomach twist but I know it's what must be done in order to come home. And after seeing Grandma, I know I have to win for her.

Sure enough, no one else comes to visit me. When the hour is finished, the Peacekeepers come in and I stand up, following them out the door with no fuss. I straighten out my dress as they lead me outside to the train station. That was one nice thing about District Two, the train station was right behind the Justice Building.

There are tons of cameras waiting for us and I look around to find Lance walking out with other Peacekeepers. We make eye contact and I see him stare at me fiercely. I starting smirking about this new found anger in him as I turn towards the train door that just opened. Flannery starts to lead us inside and I wave at the cameras but I keep thinking about what changed in Lance.

So he's willing to fight. I look forward to that fight and being the one to defeat him so I can be the victor for District Two.


	2. Train Rides

**Welcome to the 125th Hunger Games!**

 **Just a few things before the story begins. A reminder that this is one story out of two that are taking place during the same time. So if you are reading this story first and plan on reading the other, you may want to read the same chapter from the other in order to avoid spoilers to the character.**

 **I will update the stories on the same day, that way once the games start you can choose which story to read first as there will be some spoilers about what might happen to the other character.**

 **I'll let you begin the story. As always, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. Any comments are good comments.**

 **Let the Games begin!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2:**

Flannery immediately leads us to our rooms, gesturing us to different ones. "Here are your rooms. Of course, we'll be in the Capitol tonight but you can use them to rest for a bit while we get going." I nod at her and Lance crosses his arms as he leans against his door across the hall. Would it kill him to at least treat Flannery with a little respect? "Now I will come get you in about one hour for lunch and you can meet your mentors!" Flannery walks away cheerfully, still excited that she picked two important tributes.

I raise an eyebrow at Lance and mimic his position. "Listen up," I say rashly and his eyes narrow at me, clearly not liking being bossed around. "I don't care if you wanted to be here or not. I did and I was supposed to be the volunteer this year," he rolls his eyes at this and I try to ignore him before he starts making me angry. "If you even want to get any sponsors, you're going to have to join the career pack and guess what, I have every intention to be the one who runs it."

"Oh yeah? And what if I don't want to join your little group of wannabe careers?" he taunts and I can feel my face turning red with anger. Trying to intimidate him was not going nearly as well as I thought it would.

"Then you can die in the bloodbath," I venomously say, enjoying the shock that plays on his face before he wipes away the emotions.

Lance narrows his eyes at me and I try not to notice how green they are because I'm supposed to be pretending to be angry and wanting to kill everyone. We stare at each other for a minute, both of us with our arms crossed and glaring at the other. Finally, he gives a slight nod at me. "Fine, I'll join your pack. But I'm not going to follow you around like a lost puppy. I have every intention of being the victor for District Two."

"I wouldn't expect anything else from you," I respond before opening my door and starting to walk in. I turn around, seeing he hasn't moved yet. "And good luck with trying to be victor because it will be me." I can see the shock on his face and start smirking as I shut the door. Once it's closed, I lean against it and sigh. Putting up this front all the time is exhausting and he seems to see right through it. How am I supposed to get the other tributes from the career districts to be in my pack if I can't even get my own district partner?

No, the others will be fine. Lance is just hard-headed and competing against me for one spot. Both of us have family that matters in Two and we have to make it home to them. I hate to disappoint Maylene, but that person coming home as victor won't be Lance.

The train starts to move as I head to the bed and settle down for a couple minutes. I stare up at the ceiling, wondering if I was mentally prepared for this. Sure, I've trained for years. But it might be completely different once I'm in the games and actually start killing people. I stand up and start pacing around the room, fidgeting with the new ring on my finger. Were the people in Two right about me? Am I going to crack under the pressure of the games? No, I won't allow that to happen. I'll hide away the emotions and deal with them once I'm home and away from the cameras. I won't let them see my emotions. That's why I've put up this front of being tough all these years. Fear is weakness and I can't let anyone see mine.

Because I'm a little terrified right now.

Pacing around the room isn't helping to distract my mind so I start pulling open the drawers, digging through the clothes before grabbing a soft, gray, cashmere dress. I slip out of mine, careful to set it gently on the bed before slipping into the new dress. I frown at the dress on the bed, knowing it has sentimental value to Grandma. I'll have to make sure it will get back to her at some point. No, I will return it to her. _Get it together, Glacia. You will win this._

After a few more minutes of pacing and wondering if I can keep up this façade, I'm grateful to hear a knock on the door. I practically run over, throwing open the door to see Flannery standing there. She grins what must seem like enthusiasm. "Glad to see you've gotten comfortable. Lunch is just about ready so you can head down there," she points to my right and I glance down the elegant hallway. "And we'll be eating in the next car."

"Thank you," I respond to her genuinely and I can see her light up a little in happiness. It must be rare to have tributes that are genuinely nice to her and I'm sure a lot of them view her as a dumb Capitolite. Until she gives me a reason to think that, I'm going to assume she's just a woman who loves her job. Nothing wrong with that. She turns to knock on Lance's door and I start heading down the hallway, not feeling like dealing with him again. I can hear Flannery talking to him as the door to the next car slides open and I view the fancy dining car. Now I've grown up in Victor's Village but that looks like a dump compared to the Capitol standards of wealth. A crystal chandelier is hanging over the table covered with a light blue tablecloth made out of what looks to be silk. All over the table are silver platers and dishes filled with all sorts of food. It's way too much for all of us to eat but I'll be damned if I let some delicious food go to waste. But it's the people sitting at the table that have me grinning as I join them. "Well if it isn't the man who helped train me for six years."

Darach laughs heartily at this and raises his glass in welcome at me. "Did you really think I would miss the opportunity to mentor the girl I had picked to volunteer before the Capitol decided to take a shit on our career system?"

"Darach!" Roxanne scolds him before looking around concerned. But Darach just keeps laughing at his comment as I sit next to him. She smiles apologetically at me. "I would apologize for him being so brash but I'm sure you're used to it at this point."

"Oh definitely used to it," I respond lightly and Darach gives me a small punch on the arm. This is how it always his with him; we'll joke around and he doesn't have a filter, and then we start fighting and beating each other up.

"Roxanne, relax a little, would you?" Darach starts piling food on to his plate and I start doing the same, grabbing a little of everything so I can sample it all.

Roxanne purses her lips at this but holds her tongue as the door I came through opens and reveals Lance and Flannery. Roxanne smiles warmly at Lance and pats the chair next to her. "Hello Lance, nice to see you again."

As Lance nods his head in greeting to her and takes the seat next to her, I wonder how much he really knows her. It's possible he's talked to her more than I have because she doesn't help out at the training center. Lance starts grabbing food on his plate as I sit there silently, eating my food and watching this awkwardness unfold. Lance won't have as good of a relationship with his mentor and I can use that disadvantage. While they have to figure out what his strengths and weaknesses are, Darach knows all of mine and we can focus on strategy and how I'll win the games.

Lance looks around at us before starting to eat his food. "So how do we start this mentoring thing?"

Darach chuckles a little at this and sets his fork down. He puts his elbows on the table and grasps his hands together as he stares at Lance, probably figuring how much of a threat he is. "Well, I will be mentoring Glacia and Roxanne will mentor you. As for discussing strategy, that is something to figure out with Glacia. Now, we can work with you together or separate-"

"Separate," I interrupt him immediately and he gives me a side eye at this but I can see the hint of a smile on his face. He knew I would have that reaction. Lance looks a little offended at this but he can deal with it. I don't want him around when Darach and I discuss how I'll defeat Lance and give the audience a good show at the same time.

Lance waits to finish a bite of food before speaking up. "Separate works," he agrees, trying to look like he had some control in the decision. But the only one he's fooling is himself.

Roxanne looks a little unhappy about this but doesn't protest it. "Well we have no problem mentoring you two separately. But if you plan to work in an alliance together, we will need to discuss some strategy together."

I raise an eyebrow at Lance, waiting to see if he will follow through with what he said earlier. He looks uneasy about the situation – and he should be – but he keeps his word. "Yes, we will be in the career pack together."

"Well, we will work with the tributes normally from the career districts," I add, not knowing who else has been picked this year. "If we're lucky, they'll be older and have some training."

"That would be ideal," Darach says and I wait for him to continue as I eat some food. Man, this stuff is amazing. "But don't count on it. I'm not saying to completely dismiss them based on their age, but you can take a day to figure out if they will be an asset or hinder you."

I nod at this, knowing it's a smart plan. We eat in silence for a few minutes, my hunger finally coming back after being too nervous about the Reaping to eat earlier. Flannery watches me and Lance in silence, looking pleased at her two tributes. And she should be. I would be surprised if District Two didn't bring home the victor this year.

Darach sets down his fork after a while and stands up. "Alright Glacia, let's go discuss some strategy." I smile as I stand up and start following him into a new train car, leaving Lance and Roxanne behind as they start murmuring about us. Let them talk and judge me for wanting to train separately. It won't matter once I win.

Once we enter what looks to be a bar car and the door closes behind us, Darach gives me a rare hug. I hug him back, a little confused about this. It's short-lived and he soon leads me over to the table. "Sorry, I'm just happy that you were picked. I was very disappointed when they announced there would be no volunteers because I knew you would have won."

"Even against Damon?" I ask him as he pours himself a drink. I thought the guy who should have been the other volunteer for Two was just as capable as me and would have been a big threat to me.

Darach laughs at this before taking a sip of his drink. "I suggested him because I knew he would help you get far in the games but would make a stupid error that would cause him to get killed." He shrugs as I raise my eyebrows in shock at this confession. "Hey, only one of you can make it out of the games. Are you upset that I wanted the winner to be you?"

"No," I say quietly has he hands me a glass of water. I twirl it around in my hands and watch the water for a few seconds before looking back up at him. He's watching me carefully. "So now what?"

"Now you win the games," he answers nonchalantly and raises his glass up to me. "To District Two's next victor and winner of the Fifth Quarter Quell, Glacia Skylar."

I clink my glass with his, smiling at the sound of that. "I will make that happen."

"I know you will," he sets down his glass and leans back in his chair. "Now, I know you're smart. What's your plan with Lance?"

I smirk at him knowing me well. "I don't trust him at all. But he will be useful. Sponsors will love the fact that he's Maylene brother, just like they'll love that I'm Sylvia's granddaughter. He might not want to fight but he's strong and will be useful for getting rid of some tributes early on."

"And then?" Darach prompts with a smirk, knowing I'm not done.

"And then I give the Gamemakers the best show they could ask for: a fight between the relatives of two victors."

"I'm glad you know that you'll have to fight him eventually," Darach says with a nod and picks up his glass again. He swirls around the drink as he continues. "The Gamemakers are probably already plotting the battle. And the fact that it's a Quarter Quell means they need to make it a good show."

I consider asking him if he thinks the Reaping was rigged to pick us both and create drama for the Quarter Quell. But I know those are dangerous words to say on a train heading towards the Capitol. Any sign of rebellion could bring on the wrath of the Gamemakers. "When will we know the other tributes?"

"It will be a while since we were only the second district to have their Reaping. But we'll be getting to the Capitol very soon and I imagine by time we get settled, they'll be starting the reruns. And we hope for strong – but not too strong – tributes from One and Four."

I start to feel some excitement at the thought of seeing the Capitol. It always looked so marvelous on the TV when watching the games and I'm sure that won't compare to seeing it in person. And living in District Two, we're very close to the Capitol so we get to spend an extra night there instead of on a train like some of the other districts. And tomorrow night we get to travel through the city on a chariot ride. I hope they have something amazing for us to wear this year. "Tomorrow, how should I act on the chariot ride?"

"Keep up that normal act you put on around everyone else," he replies and I frown a little at it being called an act. I like to believe I am tough. "Act tough and try to intimidate the other tributes. Don't worry if you're not waving to the crowd, they'll love you anyways. You're the best tribute they could hope for coming from District Two: someone with training and a willingness to fight, and also with a pretty face for them to fawn over." I scowl at the thought of being known as just a pretty face and Darach starts laughing. "Just don't scowl too much or they won't think that. I know you don't like it, but it's those sorts of things that win sponsors."

"Will I get sponsors?" I ask him and he scoffs at this. "Okay, probably a dumb question but I don't want to leave anything up to chance."

Darach is about to respond but the windows go dark as we reach the tunnel leading through the mountains surrounding the city. This lasts for only a minute and then sunlight shines on us and I walk over towards the window. We're traveling over a crystal blue lake and in the short distance is the Capitol, shining all sorts of colors. Buildings loom high up on the horizon, some made of entirely glass while others out of ancient stone. As the train pulls closer, I can feel it start to slow down and I turn back to Darach. I smile confidently at him, putting up my front again now that we're near people that might mean the difference between life or death. "Now let's win these games."

* * *

I settle down on to the couch happily but I don't let that show. My fingers move over the soft leather as the others join me. It's been over an hour since we had arrived at the Capitol and had to make our way through the crowds, already excited to see the tributes from District Two. Once we arrived at the training center, we were brought up to the second floor and I was shocked by how large the place is. We must have an entire floor to ourselves. The furniture is all sleek and futuristic looking. Flannery insisted on showing us around but finally, we get to watch the Reapings.

Flannery turns the screen on and Claudia Flickerman and Elliot Templesmith appear. Both had inherited this position from their famous fathers who announced and interviewed tributes for years. Claudia speaks up, hair dyed a whitish silver color. "Good afternoon everyone. For those now tuning in, the Reaping in District Eleven just finished up and we are now able to give a review of all eleven Reapings. So Elliot, would you like to start with District One?"

"Of course," he replies cheerfully as the screen cuts to District One. "Now for the female tribute we have seventeen-year-old Lorelei," the girl is shown walking towards the stage, tall, graceful, and with long dark hair. She can pose a threat with gaining sponsors because she's pretty, but at least she looks like she has had training. I can work with that. "Beautiful girl and I'm sure the Capitol is already in love with her. And look at that fire in her eyes!" I roll my eyes at this and can hear Darach scoff next to me. I'm glad he's also thinking that she isn't a huge threat. "Now the male tribute is a big difference from the normal tributes we see here in District One. Ryoko is twelve, the youngest tribute from One in years."

"Damn it," I whisper as the show the short boy with jet black hair. He at least looks muscular so maybe he is training but he'll have a year or two at most. Not what I wanted in allies.

"It will be interesting to see how Ryoko compares to his much older district partner," Elliot wraps up as the screen returns to them. He turns to Claudia smiling. "But District Two was where things got very interesting. Care to tell everyone?"

"I'd love to," Claudia says and our district is shown. "District Two has the most living victors right now and the two tributes happen to both be related to victors." I'm shown on the screen, cheering as my name is called and walking to the stage confidently. "Now here is eighteen-year-old Glacia, granddaughter of Sylvia Skylar." The cameras move briefly to Grandma before back to me. "She looks like she is ready to fight and make not only District Two, but her grandmother proud."

Darach gives me a pat on the back at already catching the attention of the Capitol as the screen switches to Lance hesitating before walking towards the stage. "Now for the male tribute, we have seventeen-year-old Lance, younger brother of Maylene Henderson."

"Oh I loved Maylene's games," Elliot comments and the screen switches to Maylene on the stage. "The way she outsmarted and fought better than everyone gave me chills."

"I have chills right now just thinking about it," Claudia says before continuing to speak about Lance. "Will Lance give us chills like Maylene did? We'll have to wait to find out."

So just like I thought, Lance didn't make nearly as good of an impression as I did at the Reaping. I lean back against the couch, satisfied and smirking at this as I wait for District Four's tributes to be shown. I'm not two impressed so far with my options but they'll have to do. At least when it comes time to get rid of them, they won't pose as big of a threat.

Elliot wraps up discussing District Three and Claudia starts talking about my other potential allies. "So the no volunteer rule proved to switch up the normal tributes for District Four as well." Not good. "Now Anabel here is thirteen, one of the youngest this year. But I wouldn't count her out just yet." The girl is tall for her age and doesn't really seem like she wants to be there so it's likely she hasn't had training. "But Ardos is older – fifteen – and I think he might surprise us." The screen shows the boy with that typical golden blond hair from Four and I'm pleased when I can tell he is one who has been training. When he reaches the stage, he protectively grabs Anabel's hand and I raise my eyebrows at this. "Now look at that, these two clearly know each other. Ardos looks very protective and that can be a good or a bad thing in the arena."

I'm going to hope that it's a good thing. They'll want to work together which means I'll have to take Anabel despite her being younger. But if Ardos is trying to protect her, that might mean he won't do anything stupid that would put her life at risk. It will be pointless in the end but I can figure out a way to use that.

I sit back and watch the rest of the tributes be discussed, not having a particular interest in them. The two from Five a bit interesting since their older but age means nothing. What matters is their willingness to fight. Lance seems particularly interested in the girl from District Seven for some reason and I try to figure out what it might mean. Sure, she's pretty with her slim figure and long auburn hair but other than that, I don't think she'll be real competition. But if Lance is interested in her, I'll watch her and see if I can use this against Lance. The rest of the tributes blur together, only the boy from Ten sticking out because he's eighteen and is muscular from probably years of herding livestock.

Once Flannery turns the screen off, Darach stands up in front of us. "So what do you think?"

"I think Lorelei will be good, Ardos can be good but his protectiveness of Anabel might be dangerous, and Ryoko is hard to judge," I respond and Darach nods his head at my observations.

"It's always hard to tell from just a Reaping how the tributes will be once they are in the arena. But I think Glacia's observations are all accurate." He pauses and looks over at Lance, who looks uncomfortable about Darach's intense stare. "What do you think about the tributes?"

Lance looks around uncomfortably. "Well, everything that Glacia said is probably true-"

"I don't care what Glacia said, I want your observations of the tributes," Darach interrupts and Lance glares at him, fists clenching in anger. It's clear Darach doesn't really like Lance and the two are probably going to butt heads a lot.

Lance crosses his arms and I start to wonder if he'll even go along with Darach and answer the question. It wouldn't surprise me if he was stubborn enough to just stay silent. But he eventually speaks quietly. "Eight of them are under the age of fifteen." Huh, I didn't even think about paying attention to that. Maybe because I know that I can't think about the age or I'll start to pity them and pity will only lead to me losing. "Most of them are weak and frail looking." Now that observation I made. Everyone but us, Lorelei, and maybe the boy from Ten look like they could barely lift a sword, let alone us one.

Darach stands in thought for a few seconds and I wonder if he's thinking the same thing as me. These aren't what a career would think about after looking at the tributes for the first time. "I guess those aren't bad assumptions. So how do we sum up all of the tributes?" I'm not sure if he's asking a rhetorical question or not so I stay silent. Lance stays quiet too, along with Roxanne who has stayed out of all of this. A few seconds pass and Darach continues. "Two of the biggest threats are sitting right here."

Lance looks over at me and I make eye contact with him, not backing down from him. I won't let him be a threat to me because I know I have the superior training. And I have more of a reason to get home to Two. Grandma… I don't even want to think about how she would react if I didn't win. No, I won't let Lance win. I can see on his face that he wants the exact same thing as me.

But there will be only one person going home to Two, at it will be me.

* * *

 **So I have created a website for these two stories to give a lot more details than I can describe. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and this website has many pictures. Some features include tribute info with backstories, info on the victors from District Two, Capitol citizens, outfits for the chariot rides and interviews, and eventually information on what the arena will look like. Please check it out to learn more about the story and all of the characters involved!**

 **Website address: thefifthquarterquell . weebly .com**


	3. The Opening Ceremony

**Welcome to the 125th Hunger Games!**

 **Just a few things before the story begins. A reminder that this is one story out of two that are taking place during the same time. So if you are reading this story first and plan on reading the other, you may want to read the same chapter from the other in order to avoid spoilers to the character.**

 **I will update the stories on the same day, that way once the games start you can choose which story to read first as there will be some spoilers about what might happen to the other character.**

 **I'll let you begin the story. As always, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. Any comments are good comments.**

 **Let the Games begin!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3:**

"Alright, dear, you're just about ready for Serena," the male on my prep team, Marcus, speaks up after several hours of beauty preparation. I don't mind going through this, knowing that in a few hours I'll be presented in front of the Capitol in hopefully an amazing outfit. And while the prep team is a little odd with their Capitol fashions, I can't help but think they're a little endearing. They just enjoy beauty and fashion and there's nothing wrong with wanting to present yourself and others well. Marcus seems to be the leader of the three, and keeps his more ridiculous choices to his outfit and leaving his skin normal color and hair dark brown and styled to the side. I almost wish he was more extreme with his fashion choices so I wouldn't think he was so cute and feel embarrassed about being naked in front of him. Korinna has her hair flowy in long emerald waves down her back. And Valerie, well she is the most extreme of the three with her hair bright yellow, pulled back in a ponytail and her skin a lilac color.

Despite all their odd fashion choices, I kind of like them. It seems like they really care about making sure I impress the sponsors. And they're so joyful and carefree that its almost hard not to be in a good mood around them.

"Oh just wait until you see what she has made for you, it's absolutely wonderful," Korinna says and sighs wistfully at the outfit. This only makes me more curious about what I'll be wearing and I hope they're not over exaggerating. But District Two has always had good stylists and it's been years since our tributes have been in a bad outfit for the tribute parade.

Korinna and Valerie start talking excitedly in hushed whispers as they put some sort of soothing cream all over my body. Marcus grabs a robe from a nearby table and waits for the two to finish. "They're right," he says and I must look confused because he quickly continues. "About your outfit for tonight. I haven't seen the finished product but I did see the sketches and let me just say, you're going to look stunning and fierce in it."

"Thank you," I respond, starting to smile at the thought of an outfit that will make me win the hearts of sponsors and still look tough enough to win. He helps me put the robe on and as I'm tying it around the waist, the door opens. I look up to see a tall, slender woman walk in, platinum hair in a short cut surrounding her face. Her outfit looks to be made entirely out of leather, the pants clinging to her legs and the top short enough to barely cover her with several straps criss-crossing across the top.

Her bright red heels are the only thing making sound in the room as she walks over to me, eyes travelling up and down as she takes in my appearance. When she reaches me, she nods at the prep team and they quickly leave, knowing their job is down. I start wondering if this woman is menacing and rude, based on her appearance and attitude. But as the team leaves the room, she starts smiling and holds out a hand to me. "Serena. I will be your stylist before the games and hopefully afterwards."

I shake her hand, liking that she already wants me to win. "I'm Glacia but you probably already knew that."

She looks amused at this as she keeps hold of my hand and pulls me up. "Come with me. We will discuss tonight's chariot ride and finally you can see your outfit." Serena leads me out of the room and down a hallway lined with rooms that are filled with the other tributes being prepared for tonight. "Now, this year is a little different at the request of the Head Gamemaker, Lisia Arune. She wanted to have a tribute parade with a theme across each district."

I raise my eyebrows at this as we enter a room that must be her studio. There are a bunch of mannequins scattered around the room, tables piled with all sorts of fabrics with every possible color, and one mannequin in the center of the room with a sheet over it. I'm so tempted to run over and rip the sheet off so I can see what I'll be wearing but Serena leads me over to a couch with a table in front of it, covered in drinks. She hands me one as we sit down and she continues speaking. "I imagine Lisia want everyone to look fabulous tonight since it is a Quarter Quell and some of the outfits in previous years have been… less than stellar."

I laugh a little at that, knowing it's true for the outer districts. I clearly remember District Eleven's tributes being dressed as apples a few years and there was no way to make those poor kids look good in the costumes. "So what's this theme that Lisia came up with and is it any good?"

Serena smirks at this and I know my costume must be good. "Oh it won't disappoint. Everyone will look great this year but I made sure your costume goes above and beyond the others." She pauses and takes a sip of her drink as she watches me. "Tell me, Glacia, what do you know about the ancient Greek gods and goddesses?"

I shrug at this but my interest is growing at what's under the sheet. "Not very much. Didn't they all have control over something different?"

There's excitement in her eyes and I know what I said must be important. "Yes, that is correct. This year, each district was given a different god or goddess that the stylists had to take and create an outfit based on. I will tell you some more about the others before the parade so you know what each tribute represents." She stands up and walks over to the mannequin, grabbing it as she turns to me smirking. "Do you want to know what god was chosen for District Two?"

I nod my head fervently, sitting on the edge of my seat. This is such an interesting twist on the tribute parade and I can't wait to see what elegant dress I'll have for my outfit. Serena pulls the sheet away and reveals an outfit that isn't a dress, but so much better. "Ares, the God of War."

* * *

I didn't think fake armor would be this heavy but it seems like they made us real armor to wear just for the chariot ride. It's almost a shame it won't ever get used. Maybe when I win I can ask them if I could keep it.

As I look in the mirror at the gold armor that fits me perfectly, I twirl the spear in my hand. It wasn't real, of course, but it just feels right to have a spear back in my hand since it's always been my choice weapon. They made it out of gold as well, everything having raised patterns of vines. The gold helmet has bright red feathers attached in a line traveling from the front to the back and I'm surprised it doesn't look ridiculous. In fact, I look like I could be a god of war and hopefully the other tributes will be afraid of me when they see me.

I move my braid towards the back as I turn towards Serena, smiling at the amazing outfit she created. "This outfit is perfect. You did an amazing job."

"Thank you," she responds quietly as she helps put a golden shield on my left arm. It has the District Two seal on it and it is just enough to add to it without taking away from the outfit. Serena stands back and looks at me proudly. "I think I've outdone myself. I might as well retire after this year because no other outfit will top this year."

I nod in agreement with her. At least if I somehow don't win, I can know that I will be the best dressed female tribute in District Two's history. "You should definitely thank Lisia for this idea. Do you know if the other stylists have made outfits this amazing?"

Serena shrugs as she waves her hand and starts walking towards the door. I follow her out as she starts leading me up towards the chariots. The hallway is clear of people and I don't know if we're early or running late. "I'm not sure. We all helped each other a bit with the initial sketches since this is completely different from our normal designs." She pauses as we step into an elevator and start moving up. "We will just have to see," she turns and smirks at me as the door opens on the ground floor.

I put on a scowl, wanting to play the part of Ares, God of War, and assert myself as being the one to fear in the arena. And as we walk towards the second chariot, I can tell that everyone has amazing outfits this year. Even the chariots are painted different to reflect their assigned Greek god or goddess. We pass District Eleven at the back, and I try to recall what god they had. I think Serena had mentioned wine which looking at their outfits seems likely. They white tunics are simple with just a gold belt around their waist but they have on crowns of grape leaves and hold staffs wrapped in the vines. It's a lot better than their normal outfits and you can see on their faces they're happy about it. But when I pass them, the girl looks away quickly but not before I can see the fear on her face. Good. I start smirking as we continue walking, most of the tributes not there yet.

Serena leads me quietly towards our chariot, letting me walk confidently in that armor. I'm happy I can move around easily in it, otherwise I would complain to her that it wouldn't be good armor.

It's not until District Five that I see the next set of tributes and I scowl when I see them. I had been jealous when Serena told me they had Zeus, God of the Sky and ruler of the other gods. Sure, it made sense that a god who controls lightning gets assigned to the district that creates power, but still, they will never rule over the other tributes. Not while I'm around. They're lucky to have a nice outfit, white tunic embroidered with what I'm sure is real gold along with a gold crown. But it's the lightning bolt that they're holding that looks real that makes me jealous. I should have been given that god. No, Ares works better for me. And my armor looks better than any dress they could have given me.

And a fancy chariot outfit won't matter eventually once we're in the arena.

Serena stops me at a gold chariot lined with spikes on the outside and I know it has to be ours. Two black horses wait to pull it, wearing gold head pieces topped with a single big red feather, similar to my helmet. She turns me around so that she can look me over, making slight adjustments to how the armor sits or brushing off dirt. She pulls out makeup brushes and I question where she got it as she starts making last minute touches to the dark eye makeup I have on. I know it really makes my blue eyes stand out and I hope they still look fierce like Bronn always told me they were because I plan on intimidating the other tributes with just one look. "Well, I don't think there are really anymore changes I can make," Serena says after a few minutes.

I nod as Lance and his stylist walks up. He's wearing an identical outfit to mine and in that armor, I'm reminded that he will be competition. I have to make sure I keep reminding myself that because I can't afford to let my guard down around me. Not surprisingly, he's frowning as they stop at us and I know he must be unhappy with the Capitol playing dress up with him. I try not to smirk at him being so stubborn about everything because this will help me out. Resistance to play the games will only lead to his death, something that will put me one step closer to getting home.

"Let's get this over with," Lance mumbles stubbornly as he shifts around in his armor. He looks uncomfortable holding the spear as he lets his stylist look him over one last time.

Serena gives me a nudge towards the chariot, proudly smiling at me as I take my place on the right side of the chariot. I look ahead at the first chariot, a little jealous at Lorelei's beautiful silver dress made out of what looks like silk, showing off her curves, and covered in gems. Her hair has roses woven in and I'm a little jealous that she has such a feminine outfit on because she'll be winning over the sponsors for her looks. Of course District One was giving the goddess of beauty. But beauty will only get you so far in the arena.

But a war god can win a fight to the death.

I'm smirking as I look over at Lance, feeling confident that I can win this. But I need him to help me get there. "Stop looking pissed off at the Capitol. That's not going to help us out."

He leans against the side of the chariot as he glares at me and I can see him try to cross his arms and fail with the shield on. "So what am I supposed to do since you're obviously so knowledgeable about being in the games?"

"Look tough. We're representing the God of War and we want the Capitol to think we're soldiers." I raise my eyebrows at him, making sure he's paying attention to me. "Most importantly, we want the tributes to be afraid of us."

Lance thinks about this for a couple seconds before begrudgingly nodding at me. He stands up tall as the first chariot starts to move, realizing that I'm right about this. I can hear the crowd cheering in excitement at District One as our horses start pulling us forward. Time to impress all of Panem.

As we exit the Remake Center, the screams in the crowd get even louder as we enter the lights. For a second I'm overwhelmed by how many people are surrounding us. But then their screams become invigorating and I start loving it. They are all cheering for me. Well, us, but Lance won't be victor so they might as well be cheering for me only. I stand they're proudly, knowing all of Panem is watching me. Some people in the crowd start chanting both of our names and I raise my spear up, bringing more of my name than Lance's. He notices this too and copies my actions, clearly trying to not be outdone but it's too late. The next chariot has started moving out and some of the crowd starts paying attention to them. But we're still a big focus on the screens around us as we make our way to the City Circle.

I keep waving my spear around towards the crowd, wanting them to view me as someone ready to fight and kill to win the games. Am I ready to fight? Definitely. But am I ready to kill? I can only hope that when the time comes, my instincts will kick in and I'll just do it, worrying about the consequences of taking a life later on. And I plan on having plenty of time to live after these games.

Lance continues copying my actions, with less excitement. At least he's a fast learner and knows he needs to start playing by the games in order to get far. But not too far.

Our chariot arrives at the City Circle and comes to a halt near District One's. I put my arm down and rest my spear on the ground, putting the other hand on my hip as we wait for the other chariots to finish arriving. I glance over at One's and see Lorelei looking at me. I return her gaze, trying to determine if there is any hostility in it. But after a few seconds she nods her head and I return the gesture, smirking as I turn to look at the other chariots arriving. Good to know that I have one person from the other districts ready to work with me. And I'm sure she can convince Ryoko to join us too. That just leaves District Four…

As their chariot arrives, I raise my eyebrows in surprise at their outfits. Lisia couldn't have picked a more perfect Greek god for them than Poseidon. Their white tunics are covered in chains of blue and green gems, surely trying to replicate the sea. Top that with a crown made of coral and holding a trident, they look like they just came from the ocean. Well, they did but not from the depths of the ocean where I imagine Poseidon would live. The girl looks very nervous to be here but Ardos keeps leaning over and whispering her, probably words of encouragement. That protectiveness is so going to bite me in the ass during the games but I can't afford to not have them as allies.

Neither of them looks at me but that's fine, I'll have plenty of time to talk to them over the next few days. I continue watching the chariots arrive, not really impressed by the other districts. Sure, they're outfits are pretty but it's clear One, Two, and Four still have the best designers. Or maybe we were just given the better Greek god and goddesses. It doesn't really matter, as long as I get the sponsors I want.

Lance shows more interest when District Seven arrives and I try to understand what he sees in this girl. And her outfit isn't that impressive, just a silver tunic, crown of silver leaves, and holding a silver bow and arrow. But he has this lovestruck look on his face which is not the image I want the crowd to have of one of my allies. "Knock it off, we're supposed to still look tough."

He starts frowning at me as he continues looking at the girl. Once her chariot stops, she looks around and when she notices Lance looking at her, she glares over angrily. I have to fight not to start laughing at this rejection but a small chuckle escapes. Lance turns his gaze back towards the balcony with the president and Gamemakers, glaring because of my reaction. He starts muttering to himself, probably not intending for me to hear but I do. "You won't be laughing once the games start."

I smirk at this as the president starts walking towards the front of the balcony. "Oh I will," I respond to him, glancing out of the corner of my eye to see his reaction. It's clear he wasn't expecting an answer from me, especially not that one. Good. And I will be laughing during the games, especially when I become victor over him.

As President Xavier raises his hands, the crowd falls silent as they wait for him to speak. It had been a while before Panem had a president without a secret agenda and actually cared about the welfare of the country. Xavier was exactly that and it can be seen by how the Outer Districts are better fed and there are less in poverty than before. I do hope that he has a long time in office so Panem will continue to do well. "Welcome, citizens of Panem. It is with great honor that I welcome you all to the Fifth Quarter Quell!" President Xavier pauses as he lets the Capitol crowd cheer in excitement at this. "While the games started from a dark time in Panem's history, it continues to bring us together as a country in one united celebration." He raises his glass towards us in the chariot rides and smiles. "Tributes, we salute you and your dedication for Panem. Your sacrifice does not go unnoticed and you will be remembered for your bravery." Well that's a bunch of lies but no one will say it. No one remembers the tributes who didn't win. I barely remember who came in third place last year. "And as always, Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor."

The chariots begin to move again as the crowd cheers loudly, wanting to get one last look at the tributes before we start our training. I wave once again with my spear before we enter the Training Center. I let out a sigh of relief that we're away from the crowds and I don't have to continue putting up my front of being tough for the entire country. But now, I have to start winning over tributes. Our mentors are nowhere in sight as we come to a halt and I jump down immediately, leaving Lance behind as I make my way to District One. Lance can figure out on his own how to make allies with these people but I'm going to be the one to put it together.

Lorelei is holding her dress as she gets down, trying not to trip over it. When she reaches the ground, she looks up and notices me there and doesn't seem surprised. "I wondered if we would be talking tonight."

I nod in agreement at this as Ryoko approaches and stands next to Lorelei. He's even shorter in person and I can't help cursing the escort from One would picked someone so young. At least he won't pose a threat to sponsors. As for Lorelei, well, she looks even prettier in person in that outfit. My jealousy of the girls from District One starts rising up, always wanting to be dressed up and adored like they were. No, I can't think like that. I'll win the games based on my skills, not my looks. "Of course. Glacia Skylar," I say and hold out my hands to them. Lorelei shakes it first, looking a little amused that I introduced myself because we've all taken the time to learn the names of the tributes who will be our allies.

Ryoko shakes my hand excitedly and I glance over at Lorelei to see if this is normal and she rolls her eyes at me. Great, I have an overexcited twelve-year-old. "Ryoko. Great to meet the granddaughter of a victor. Are you going to be leading us?"

Lorelei looks unhappy about this but doesn't say anything. I start smirking as I realize they'll all follow me without putting up much fuss. "I have every intention of it. And you two will be in my career pack?" I hate calling the alliance a career pack because the tributes this year are hardly typical careers. But I can see Ryoko's face light up in enthusiasm at being called a career and I file this information away, knowing I just need to continue reassuring him that he's just as capable as us to keep him in the alliance.

Lorelei on the other hand still doesn't look too thrilled about this situation. Maybe she's wishing the same thing as me, that she didn't get stuck with such a young district partner. Or maybe she's wishing she was the one leading us. She seems to be debating her options for a few seconds as Ryoko looks up at her, waiting for her to make the decision for them. Finally, she agrees with me. "Yes, we can be allies."

"Good," I say with a nod at the two. "I'll see you tomorrow morning for training," I turn and leave them before they can say anything else. As I make my way to where the two District Four tributes are talking, I smile a little at how that went. There will probably be some issues with Lorelei later on and I'll definitely watch her. But at least for now, that makes four of us in this alliance. And I plan on making it six.

I glance around and see that Lance has approached the girl from Seven that he seems infatuated with. She looks hesitant to talk to him and I secretly hope that she completely rejects him so that he can be fully committed to our alliance. If not, it seems very likely that I'll have issues. But I'll worry about that later. For now, I have to focus on getting District Four to join us.

The two look up at me as I approach and I try to not frown as I see just how small the girl is. She's might be the worst pick for a tribute from Four, especially because she looks terrified about me speaking to them. Ardos stands up straight, trying to look tough – a little hard to do since he's shorter than me – and crosses his arms at me, standing a little in front of Anabel. Yeah, that protectiveness is going to bite me in the ass at some point. "Don't bother with whatever speech you had planned."

I purse my lips at Ardos' comment, trying to hold my tongue so I don't cuss him out. That's one way to make sure they don't want to be allies. "Very well. I'm Glacia. District Two."

I move my spear to my left hand and hold out my hand to them, knowing I need to go about this differently than I did with One. Those two have some training and understand that joining up with me is there best option. But these two in front of me, well, Ardos on his own might have been fine. But with Anabel, who knows? Ardos studies me for a minute, probably trying to figure out my motives and I hope he doesn't figure out that I'm taking Anabel only to get him. Finally, he takes my hand and holds it firmly as he shakes it. "Ardos." He lets go and nudges Anabel forward and she grabs my hand hesitantly, shaking it only for a second before trying to hide behind Ardos again. "And this is Anabel." He crosses his arms as he narrows his eyes at me. "What exactly do you want with us?"

"I want you as allies," I answer him immediately and he raises an eyebrow at this, clearly questioning my desire to have Anabel with us. Damn this kid is smart. "District Two and District Four have been allies for years. I think it would benefit all of us to continue this."

"And what about Anabel?" Ardos asks and I glance at the young girl behind him. It's clear she's afraid of what my response will be and the possibility that Ardos might decide to leave her when there are better options for allies.

"Even Anabel," I say, trying not to show my reluctance to the younger girl. "It's clear you two are a package deal, but even then, I would still take her." That's a complete lie and I hope he doesn't realize it. There is no way I would ever take a scared thirteen-year-old. Ryoko was different because it's clear he is ready to fight. But Anabel clearly wants to just hide for the entire games.

"Do you want to know why I won't abandon her?" Ardos asks, trying to figure out how much I'm actually interested in teaming up with them. And I'll admit, I am a little curious. Once I nod my head at him, he continues. "She's my best friend's little sister. I've known her since she was born and she might as well be my own sister." He pauses and I can see a pained look on his face. "I know that in this situation we both can't win but if it came down to the two of us, I would rather see her win. And I will do whatever I can to protect her."

"That's very brave of you," I say sincerely. I can respect a boy who cares about someone so much that they are willing to sacrifice their life for them. And isn't that more or less what I'm doing? I was ready to volunteer to try and win the games so that I could get people to stop making such terrible comments about Grandma. I look at him, a new understanding of him. "And I understand why you would do that," I say before I can stop myself. He looks surprised at my comment and I put up my front again, not wanting to let it slip like that again. "So will you be joining us tomorrow at training tomorrow?"

"Who's 'us'?" Anabel speaks up and I look over at her, feeling my expression soften at her. No, this is bad. I can't let myself feel pity for the younger tributes. Pity will mean I might hesitate when it comes time to kill them and you can't afford to hesitate in the games. Hesitation can mean death.

"Myself, obviously," I say, my tone a little sharp as I fight the inner turmoil to pity her and be mean towards her. "Then there is my district partner and the pair from One."

"That's a big alliance," Ardos says quietly and I can tell he is questioning if it would be good to join us.

"It would be the largest in the arena and there is safety in numbers," I try defending the logic of having such a large alliance. In normal years, it makes sense for the careers to all team up at the beginning because in the years where they targeted each other right away, an outer district tribute won almost every time.

Ardos looks at Anabel who pleads at him silently, eyes widen in fear and almost a little hope. He sighs before turning back to me. "Yes, we will join you in the morning."

"Excellent," I say, trying to hold in my relief that they agreed. I was starting to think they wouldn't and were planning on going on their own. That wouldn't be too terrible but I want to have as many allies as possible in the beginning since they're not as trained. If they said no, I would have to find others, especially since Lance will probably be an issue. "I'll see you then."

I turn and start heading towards the elevator, knowing I can very soon take away the scowl on my face. This was a lot more work than I thought it would be. I was prepared for the physical part of the games but nowhere near prepared for the mental part. The boy from Three in his leather outfit and holding a hammer sees me approach and moves away, not wanting to be in the same elevator with me. I remember that I'm still in the armor so of course he is afraid of me.

I step on and press the button for two. As the doors close, I look out and spot Lance still talking to the girl from Seven. They both look almost happy and not glaring at each other. This is bad. I sigh as I start moving up, wishing it could have been a normal year with volunteers. Damon would have been a good district partner and listened to every plan I wanted to do. But now I have to deal with a partner who will probably not even want to be in the alliance from the start or leave us all very soon after the games start.

The doors slide open and I'm relieved when I see Darach waiting inside. I let the façade I put up melt away and show my true emotions. "Let me guess, you didn't think the games would involve having people skills and thought you could charm people by how you stab dummies with spear in training?"

I roll my eyes at him as he takes the spear from me before helping to remove the shield. I had grown used to the weight of it and now my arm feels very light without it. I remove the helmet and scratch my head before answering him. "Pretty much. But I did talk to the other districts like you suggested."

"And?" he asks as I try sitting down on the couch awkwardly with the armor on. He hands me a glass of water that I quickly chug as he looks at me amused. "And don't worry, the stylists will be here soon to help you out of that."

I set the glass down on my lap as I look at Darach. He was able to win his games with pure force. Why can't I be like that? Am I not as tough as I think? That's not true. He wouldn't have picked me initially to be the volunteer if I couldn't win. "One won't be an issue. The boy is young, yes, but he's ready to fight. And the girl clearly doesn't like being bossed around but she will listen. Plus, she'll be good for sponsors."

Darach nods his head in approval at this. "That's about the best we could hope for with them. And good observation with her. Now we know to watch her." He raises an eyebrow at me, noticing I hadn't mentioned the others. "And what about Four?"

I sigh as I think about them and look away from Darach, not wanting to see him disapprove of me. But I can see him frown very slightly out of the corner of my eye. "The girl is so scared and probably won't really fight. But the boy is so protective of the girl," I pause and look over at Darach, not knowing what I should do about them. "He's known her for almost his entire life and basically treats her as a sister. How can I actually kill her if it comes down to it?"

Darach puts a hand on my shoulder and his face shows emotions that he usually keeps hidden for the world. Only a select few are allowed to see this side of him and I feel special that I can see him as someone other than the brute who won the games. It reminds me that it's okay for me to not act like that all the time. "The younger kids are always the toughest part of the games. You can train someone for years and they'll be ready to take on tributes bigger than them but put them in front of someone younger and looking at them with big, scared eyes and they won't be able to do it." Darach sighs at this and I can tell he's thinking back to some of the tributes he's mentored over the years and I wonder how many that happened to. "For you, I don't think that will happen with the other younger tributes as long as you don't get to know them at all. They're just one more person in the way of you and District Two."

He pauses and I know he's avoiding finishing because I won't like the answer. "But what about with Anabel?"

Darach looks me right in the eye and I know he's not about to sugarcoat the answer. And I'm glad he doesn't because I need to be as prepared as possible for the games. "You hope someone kills her early on and that the boy doesn't lose it when she dies."

I'm frowning as the elevator opens and I expect it to be Lance but Serena and a man who must be Lance's stylist step off. When she sees me, she throws her arms up and walks towards me. "Oh there you are! You were absolutely stunning out there!" I stand up, almost falling over on Darach with the armor on as she approaches me. I start smiling a little at her, trying to avoid thinking about Anabel and Ardos right now. "The other stylists were so jealous when they saw the two of you."

"Is Lance not back yet?" the man asks as he looks around the room. I shake my head at him and he sighs. "Very well, let's get your outfit off. Also, Galen," he offers out his hand and I shake it. I start questioning if he likes Lance or not based on his sigh but I won't really know until Lance gets up here.

Galen nods at Serena and the two start moving around me, pulling off pieces of armor so quickly. They have my put my arms out straight to the sides and as they remove the outfit, I can feel my body happy with the weight being taken away. They somehow have it off in a minute, leaving me in the skin colored tight shirt and shorts and I feel a little self-conscious in front of my mentor. Serena takes my arm and starts leading me away. "Come, let's get you in more comfortable clothes."

Galen starts talking to Darach as we head down the hallway towards the room I stayed in last night. Once inside, Serena smiles apologetically at me. "Sorry, I probably should have taken the armor off in here but I just figured you were tired of wearing it."

I shrug at her as I start rummaging through the dressers, pulling out a pair of black silk pants and a soft maroon shirt. I hold the clothes to my chest as I look at her. "It's alright. He's seen me beaten and bloody from training before so I suppose this really isn't that bad." I slip of the tank top and trade it for the shirt before chuckling a little. "And yeah, that armor wasn't uncomfortable but it also wasn't a soft cotton robe."

Serena laughs at this as I put the pants on. She holds her hand out for the clothes and I give them to her as she smiles at me. "Well, I couldn't half-ass an outfit just so you could be comfortable, so you got a fully functioning set of armor."

"I wouldn't want a half-assed outfit so I'll take the slight discomfort," I respond sarcastically to her, a little happy that I have someone here I can joke around with that isn't Darach. He's great to be around, but just talking about the games every conversation with him is starting to get a little overwhelming. I genuinely smile at Serena as she waits by the door. "Thank you for the outfit. It was perfect."

As I walk up to her, she puts a hand on my shoulder and smiles at me. "It was my pleasure. Someone like you deserves an outfit that will instill fear and love in the hearts of the Capitol at the same time." This has me grinning, happy to know that I made a good impression during the Tribute Parade. "Now, get rid of that smile and go back to being tough Glacia and let's go watch the rerun so you can see how you outshined the others."

She leads me out the door and I raise an eyebrow at her comment. "How do you already know that it's an act most of the time?"

Serena shrugs and pauses at the end of the hallway. I can hear Roxanne and Flannery talking in the main room as I look at my stylist. She speaks quietly to me. "I've seen many tributes from District Two. There are some where all they want to do is fight. You're not one of them. I don't know what it is yet, but you're trying to prove yourself."

I nod my head in confirmation, a little surprised that this woman who barely knows me already figured me out. "Is it obvious?"

"Obvious that you're a little scared about the games but want to prove you can win?" I cringe a little at her nailing how I feel and she shakes her head. "Not at all. I'm just used to analyzing tributes and creating outfits that reflect who they are."

"Good," I say, satisfied that the Capitol believes I'm a typical career. "And at some other time I'll tell you what I'm fighting for."

Serena smiles in anticipation before gesturing her hand forward. I walk out first, heading towards the mentors and our escort on the couch. Roxanne notices me first and I can tell that she doesn't really like me. I'm not sure why but I don't let it bother me. She's not my mentor so it doesn't matter in the end. Flannery sees me and gets excited about her tributes. "Oh Glacia, I already have people asking me for more information about you! You were the highlight of the Tribute Parade and I wouldn't be surprised if you have sponsors lined up already."

"Don't tell them anything," Darach interrupts and Flannery looks offended by his suggestion. "It will create suspense by not knowing anything and therefore more appeal."

Flannery looks like she's ready to protest this for a few seconds but decides she can make his idea work. "Yes, I suppose I can make that work." She sits back against the couch, looking deep in thought for a few minutes. She absentmindedly turns on the screen in front of us. "I can make her the only real career this year," she mumbles to herself as the Capitol logo appears before looking around at us. "Where's Lance? Oh well, we can start watching without him."

Claudia Flickerman and Elliot Templesmith begin talking about the parade like always but I tune them out as I watch District One's chariot. I already know that I made a good first impression and don't need them to tell me that. All I want is to see how I actually looked. I start fidgeting with my hands as I watch Lorelei look beautiful and Ryoko is visibly excited about being in the Capitol. Yes, being allies with them is a good choice. I wouldn't be surprised if they also have sponsors lined up already.

I scoot towards the edge of the couch as I know we should be appearing, anxious to see already. And the outfits really didn't disappoint. The city lights reflect off the gold armor, almost making them blinding. The cameras shift to a close up of us and I smile in satisfaction when I see that I really did look like a God of War. The crowd goes crazy when I lifted my spear up at them and I can see on Lance's face the hesitation to copy me. Did other people see it? Or do I see it just because I know he doesn't want to be here?

The cameras move to District Three and I lean back and start relaxing again as I watch the two younger tributes in their leather outfits and carrying hammers. In front of them are anvils and flames surround them. "What god were they?"

"Hephaestus," Serena answers as the cameras move to District Four. I give her a look showing that means nothing to me and she continues. "He was the blacksmith of the gods and created a lot of their weapons and items they're known for."

I stare at the screen a little confused about how the connects to Three as I watch the chariot for Five. Galen speaks up and I glance over at him. "Lisia thought they should have that one because they create most of the technologies we use in the Capitol."

I nod my head at this, finally understanding the connection. Lisia was pretty clever with this theme. All of the tributes have looked great so far and everyone is going to remember the Tribute Parade for the Fifth Quarter Quell. And they'll remember even more my victory.

The door opens and I glance over to see Lance walking in, still in his armor. I cross my arms when I see him, knowing he's going to be the biggest threat to my victory. He walks over to us awkwardly in his outfit as Flannery mutes the volume. He briefly looks at the screen but we're on District Six now so he turns back to us.

Darach opens his mouth and I immediately wish he hadn't. "Oh look who finally decided to grace us with their presence," he scoffs and Lance starts glaring at him and crosses his arms the best he can with the shield still on. I don't understand why Darach hates Lance so much other than being a threat to my victory. But I need Lance to get through at least the beginning of the games and Darach is not helping by making him angry. "I was starting to wonder if you were going to get dragged in here by Peacekeepers because you tried to run away or something."

Lance rolls my eyes as I picture him trying to run away. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he did do something like that. In my mind I start seeing an image of several Peacekeepers trying to drag in the tall man in front of me, still with the armor on and I start smiling a little, trying to hold my laughter in. Lance notices and starts scowling at me. Of course, he probably thinks I'm smiling over Darach's comment. Before anyone can try to stop the two from getting in an argument, Lance responds to Darach sarcastically. "I didn't know I had to be at your call to answer whenever. Oh wait, you're not my mentor."

"And I never wanted to be your mentor," Darach answers him immediately and I wish I could just hide inside the folds of the couch and escape from here. I can feel the tension in the air and I look around at the others, hoping someone else might say anything to get them to stop. Flannery looks very upset by this exchange and I want to say something but I risk having Darach not want to support me as much anymore.

I'm relieved when Roxanne speaks up, knowing she's the only one who is equal with Darach and can say something to him without fear of the consequences. "Darach, do you have to be so rude to Lance?" She stands up and puts her hands on her hips as Darach leans back against the couch next to me. I wish he would at least pretend to be a little bothered by this situation. Roxanne doesn't seem bothered by this and continues to call him out. "Not every tribute we mentor has to be one of your killing machines and you have no right to take it out on Lance if he isn't ready to throw himself on a sword for your training academy."

I'm a little offended by her comment about being a killing machine as I like to think that I'm smart and can win the games without using pure force. But any offense I took from her comment is nothing compared to how Darach is feeling. I look at him out of the corner of my eyes and when I see the anger all over his face, I wish even more that I could just disappear from this room. "You wouldn't be here without that training," Darach says to her and I can hear the anger in his voice. This isn't going to end well. I look over at Lance and can see he also looks very angry at this situation. I wonder if we're going to need to call the Peacekeepers to stop these two from fighting each other. "And yeah, I'll be rude to Lance. I don't like the kid. I also don't like that there were no volunteers this year. So sorry I'm going to support the tribute who actually deserved to be here and will actually win."

This situation is so uncomfortable and I can see the stylists quietly escaping to another room and I wish I could join them. But I still need to put an act on as a career tribute and I can see Darach looking at me to support him. "Do you want to know what Lance was doing down there?" I speak up before I can think about the consequences of saying this. And from the look Lance gives me, he's almost begging me not to say anything and I wish I could have held my tongue. But it's too late now and Darach is expectantly waiting for me to tell him. This is not going to end well. "He was talking to the girl from Seven."

Darach scoffs immediately at this and I know he views the tributes from other districts as being lesser than us because they don't train. Lance clenches his fists and I know he wants to kill me. I shouldn't have given him more reasons to do that in the arena. "Don't waste your time with tributes from the outer districts. They'll probably be dead in the bloodbath." Darach pauses and shrugs and I just know what he says next is going to be so nonchalant and terrible. "Or maybe you can join her and die then. It will save Glacia the trouble of killing you later on."

It's almost as if I watch Lance strike out at Darach in slow motion, landing a punch right on Darach's jaw. The punch makes such a loud noise in the quiet room as we all watch. After a second of shock, Roxanne grabs Lance and pulls him back, probably worried that Darach will hit him back. But Darach just sits on the couch, rubbing his face where Lance hit him. Lance shakes off Roxanne's grip immediately and glares at Darach, angrily speaking to him. "I'll kill Glacia in the arena just to spite you, asshole." His words leave knots in my stomach as he storms out of the room. The look on his face showed that he probably would kill me and that terrifies me. I can't afford to die. But my mentor might have just guaranteed the fight between the tributes from District Two.

Roxanne follows after Lance, yelling at him. "Lance, wait!"

Darach meanwhile continues rubbing his face and I can see a red welt already forming. "Not a bad punch," he mumbles to himself, not seeming mad at all that Lance punched him. It's almost like he wanted to see if he could get Lance to act out.

"Darach, that was unnecessary!" Flannery scolds him as she stands up and puts her hands on her hips. "You absolutely deserved to get hit and if it wouldn't ruin my manicure, I would hit you too!" She walks away, heels clicking angrily on the floor as she heads in the direction of the others.

I pull my knees up to my chest as a sinking feeling starts in my stomach. I shouldn't have said anything about Lance talking to the girl. What was her name again? Catherine? Clara? No those aren't right. Caitlin? Yes, that seems right. Either way, it was wrong of me to throw the decisions of someone who's supposed to be my ally in front of someone who isn't even their mentor. Lance probably hates me even more now and I doubt he's going to want anything to do with me. Not after everything Darach and I said.

I hope I didn't just break up my alliance before it even started.

* * *

 **If you want more information about the stories, please go to my website at** **thefifthquarterquell . weebly .com** **! It is now updated through Chapter 3!**


	4. Training Day 1

**Welcome to the 125th Hunger Games!**

 **Just a few things before the story begins. A reminder that this is one story out of two that are taking place during the same time. So if you are reading this story first and plan on reading the other, you may want to read the same chapter from the other in order to avoid spoilers to the character.**

 **I will update the stories on the same day, that way once the games start you can choose which story to read first as there will be some spoilers about what might happen to the other character.**

 **I'll let you begin the story. As always, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. Any comments are good comments.**

 **Let the Games begin!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4:**

As the first rays of sun come through the glass windows that cover the entire walls, I sigh and roll out of bed. There's no point staying in bed when I can't find rest. Sleep only came to me for a few hours and I spent the majority of the night tossing and turning, wondering how I was going to tell my new allies that Lance won't be joining us. I still have no idea what I'll tell them. Telling them that Lance got in an argument with my mentor because of me and threatened to kill me doesn't seem like the best way to explain what happened.

I slip on a soft robe over my wrinkled clothes and make my way out of my bedroom. As soon as I take a step into the hallway, I can smell the delicious aromas and I'm glad they have breakfast already out for us. I walk down the hallway, hoping no one else will be awake yet so I don't have to deal with any awkward encounters yet. When I see the dining room table empty, I let out a sigh of relief and take a spot. I grab some toast and fruit and stare out the window at the city shining orange in the morning sun. Absentmindedly I start munching on my toast, not ready for today to start. This wasn't how I pictured the games would be when I had been picked to volunteer months ago. I should be here with Damon and there would have been no question about allegiance. We would have taken on the career alliance together when it came time to split up and then stuck together until the end. We had both agreed on that plan, accepting that getting to the final two and having to kill each other was the best outcome because it guaranteed District Two would have a victor. But now that I look back, he probably would have won. We're both skilled but he is larger and physically stronger than me.

But is this scenario any better? Not really. I have two allies that are twelve and thirteen, one determined to protect the younger girl, and the only older one with training clearly doesn't like me taking control of the alliance. And who knows with Lance. I wouldn't be surprised if he did go with Caitlin from the start since I basically pushed him away.

I hear footsteps behind me and I turn, hoping it won't be Lance. But I'm disappointed when it is him. He looks as exhausted as I feel and there are dark circles under his eyes as he joins me, sitting across from me. "You also couldn't sleep?"

Lance pauses from putting food on his plate to look at me with tired eyes, trying to figure out what my motive is. I take a sip of tea and shrug at him, not feeling like putting up my act right now. It didn't work well last night with him. A few seconds pass before he resumes taking food and answers me. "Yeah."

I'm not surprised by his short answer with me. I would have done the same thing if the situation is reversed. Except I never would have found myself getting caught up in attraction to a new boy where things would never work. I have too much on the line. I have to make it home to Grandma. I sigh as I think about what she would say about the situation I got myself into. She had told me not to trust Lance, not to push him completely away. I throw down the piece of toast I was fidgeting with, causing him to look up at me briefly out of curiosity. "I'm sorry for Darach last night."

He raises an eyebrow at my half-assed apology and I can't really blame him. I couldn't bring myself to apologize for mentioning Caitlin but I could apologize for the outburst that happened from my mentor. And I did feel a little bad about it. Mostly because it ruined my plans for my alliance, but he doesn't need to know that. I see the faintest hint of a smirk before it disappears and I wonder what that's about. Maybe it's over the fact that I didn't apologize for myself and just for Darach. "Okay," he answers before turning back to his food.

"Okay?" I ask in confusion at how that can be his response to my apology.

"Yeah, okay," Lance repeats and shrugs as he takes a bite of food. I mimic his actions, angry that he can't say anything more than that. I don't like apologizing for things, especially since I have to try to act tough around him.

I try eating for a few minutes, not having much of an appetite. Everything about these games are just going wrong and I don't know how I can try to keep everything from falling apart. I don't have the alliance I want or anyone going into the arena with me that I can trust not to stab me in the back. Is this how Grandma felt going into her games so many years ago? Afraid and not knowing how she was going to become victor? But she didn't have training like I do. I can probably beat most of the tributes when it comes down to a fight. And with the others, I'll find some way to beat them. I have to. I can't let Grandma watch me die in the games.

I throw my fork down on the table as I feel my eyes starting to water as I think about Grandma and what might happen if I don't win. Lance jumps a little at the noise and I quickly get up and turn towards the hallway, not wanting him to see this weakness. "I'm going to get ready," I say, my voice a little shaky and I hope he can't hear it.

I start walking towards my bedroom, not expecting a response from him. He's made it clear he wants nothing to do with me. But I stop in my tracks when he speaks up. "I'll meet you downstairs for training."

"What?" I ask him, a little confused by him. Is he somehow still going to join my alliance? It seems unlikely after the fight last night. I turn my head a little to the side, not enough for him to see the distraught on my face that I want to hide in my room but enough for me to be able to hear him better.

"For training. I'll meet you downstairs," Lance repeats to me and I hear him set his fork down. I hope he doesn't start walking towards me and I'm relieved when he continues and is still in the same spot. "I'm assuming we'll be training with our allies today?"

Now I turn around, needing to look at him and figure out what his motive is. I don't care anymore if he sees that I'm upset but right now, there's probably more confusion and distrust on my face. Lance is still sitting at the table, not looking happy but determined with his answer. "You still want to be in my alliance?" I ask him in disbelief, needing a definite answer from me.

"Yes," he says a little hesitantly and he's smart to be wary about joining me. He has no guarantee that I won't tell my allies to turn on him instantly in the bloodbath. But that won't happen. I need him to get further in the games but he doesn't need to know how important he is to me. "After thinking about it last night, I realized that the best option for me is to join your group. We should stick together as tributes from the same district."

Both of us know that's a lie. We're smart enough to know that we both don't trust each other. But maybe that's for the best. We won't start the games with any misconceptions about our alliance. I nod my head at him and can see a little relief on his face. Did he think I wouldn't accept him back? It's possible. "Very well. I'll see you down there. Be prepared to learn."

As I turn to continue back to my room, I see a satisfied look on his face and I know he has a different plan for later in the games. I smirk a little as I walk into my room, shutting the door behind me. He might think he can outsmart me but I know better. Grandma warned me not to trust my allies and I refuse to trust Lance. But there's no harm in letting him think he has me fooled. Maybe I can figure out what exactly his plan is.

I go to the bathroom and remove my clothes, wanting to shower before heading down to training. It's pointless since I'll be sweating by lunch from practicing, but I don't want to look like a slob. I need to make sure the other tributes know I'm the one to be afraid of. As I step in and let the hot water fall on me, I start thinking about what I need to do today. I can't get upset again about Grandma. That won't help me get home to her and will only make the games tougher for me. But I let out a couple tears that get washed away in the water. This is proving to be tougher than I ever thought it would be and I haven't even started the three days of training.

After letting myself feel sad for a few minutes, I start to feel a new determination. I can get through this, one day at a time.

 _Alright, Glacia, you can do this. What needs to get done today?_

First thing is get the others in the alliance introduced to each other and hope they don't butt heads immediately. For this alliance to work, we need to make sure we live a few days before turning on each other. I'm not worried about the ones from One and Four getting along. It's mostly Lance that I'm worried about and whatever this plan is that he's forming. I'll have to keep an eye on him during training and maybe let him go off to other stations to try to watch if he approaches Caitlin. Another thing to do is figure out how skilled my allies are. If I can learn that, I can get them to work on other skills and hopefully make sure they survive the bloodbath. And after that? I can enjoy training.

I wash my body, starting to feel better now that I have a list of things to do. It makes the process of going through training with allies seem less daunting when it's broken up into small part. And the thought of being able to practice sparing and using a spear is relaxing. That's an area that I know well and will feel comforting in this world of unknowns that is the Hunger Games.

I step out of the shower and flinch in shock at the panel on the floor running a current through me that somehow dries me in seconds. I crouch down and look at it, baffled that the Capitol has this technology. Is it that hard to use a towel? Apparently. I pick up the robe I had on earlier and slip it back on, needing to wrap something around me now that I don't need to use a towel. I walk back into my room and stop immediately when I see Darach sitting on my bed. Next to him is a black and gold outfit laid out that I'm sure is what I'm supposed to wear to training. I cross my arms over my chest as I stand on the other side of the room from him, uncomfortable and very aware that I only have a robe on. Thank god I grabbed it and didn't just walk out naked. "What do you want?"

Darach's lips twitch a little at my tone being harsher than I intended but I'm still a little angry with him. He couldn't control his temper last night and it almost made me lose Lance as an ally. "I came to see why you're trusting Lance to continuing being in your alliance."

My eyebrows raise at him knowing this. Maybe he overheard us earlier. Or Lance might have talked to Roxanne and he heard from her. "Do you really think I trust him?" I pause and the look on his face shows that he knows I don't. "But I need him. How can I expect the others to willingly be in my alliance if I can't even get my district partner to stick around?" I point over at him, feeling my anger well up at him even though I know he's my mentor and he has helped me out in so many ways before. "And you didn't help at all last night. I don't care if you don't like him. We're in the same boat there. But I need to have him in my alliance so you are going to tolerate him and please, for the love of god, don't say anything that will start another argument."

Darach crosses his arms after my outburst and I'm a little surprised at myself for getting confident enough to stand up to him. I wait for a few seconds for him to answer, starting to think I shouldn't have said anything because I might have made him now angry at me. "You're right, I shouldn't have done that," he says to me and I can tell he's apologetic as he smiles at me. "I've never been good at the people stuff. Give me a sword and I'll be great but ask me to start and hold together an alliance? Not going to happen." Darach stands up and walks to the door, pausing to turn back at me. "You'll do well in the games, Glacia. You can handle both sides of those things. I'll stop antagonizing Lance as long as you promise not to trust him."

I smirk and chuckle a little at this, feeling almost as if we're back in Two and making an agreement about me not beating up one of the kids who got overconfident. "You know it," I promise him and he smiles at me before walking out the door. Once the door is shut behind him, I head over to the bed, wanting to get dressed before someone else decides to barge in and try to talk to me while I'm almost naked.

I slip on the clothes that fit perfectly before sitting down on the bed, sighing at everything. At least Darach shouldn't be an issue with Lance anymore. That's one less problem I have to be concerned about. Now let's go hope that my alliance can tolerate each other.

I stand up and try to collect myself, needing to act tough and as the leader of this alliance. Hopefully if I can set a good example, the younger ones will be better at learning. And I need to make sure Lance doesn't see weakness in me again like this morning. I can't afford to let him see that side of me. Only mother, Grandma, and select trainers can know that most of this is an act just so I can prove myself to the district. And any weakness can be exploited in the arena.

Luckily for me, I've figured out Lance's and it happens to be a girl from Seven.

I'm smirking at this as I head towards the main room of our floor, pulling my hair back. Yes, I'll have to find some way to use this to my advantage while not pushing him completely away. It's clear his plan probably involves her. But what exactly is the plan? Hopefully I can figure that out over the next three days.

Sitting at the table are the two mentors and Flannery. Roxanne and Darach seem to be discussing something, probably this very shaky agreement Lance and I have created. Flannery is on some sort of device but when she looks up and sees me, she sets it down and claps her hands a little. "Oh Glacia, you look so perfect! Everyone else is going to look at you and see what a tribute is supposed to look like!"

I start smiling as I approach them, Darach giving a nod of approval. Roxanne looks almost as if she agrees with this but doesn't say anything, probably because she disapproves of the career system so much. "Thank you, Flannery," I respond to her and try to genuinely smile at her. The comment as boosted my confidence that has been depleting since last night's argument. But I'm feeling prepared now to face the other tributes. "Has Lance gone down yet?"

"No," Roxanne answers and I look over at her curiously, wondering if she is in on his plan. "If you want to head down without him, I'll let him know to meet you there."

I nod my head at this, hoping to introduce One and Four to each other before Lance is there. Then it's less likely for him to mess something up. "That works for me," I say to Roxanne before turning back to Flannery who is looking at me proudly. She might not be able to say it, but I'm pretty sure she's picked me as the one she wants to win from Two. "How do I get to the training center?"

"Just press the button in the elevator for the basement and you'll be there!" Flannery answers cheerfully before picking up her device again. "Good luck today, Glacia. I know you'll impress everyone."

I look over at Darach, waiting to see if he has anything to say before I go down. He looks deep in thought for a few seconds before smirking at me. "You know the drill. Make sure the alliance is stable, figure out their strengths and weaknesses, and make sure they know how skilled you are."

I smile at him before turning towards the elevator and walking towards it. "Of course, Darach," I reply to him as I reach the elevator and press the button for it. As I wait for it, I turn around and look back at them, seeing all three watching me with different emotions. Flannery is proud of having a trained tribute, Roxanne looks displeased because she knows I am better prepared than Lance, and Darach, well, he also looks proud, but not for the same reasons as Flannery. He's proud because he's been training me for years and finally gets to see that hard work paid off when we thought I wouldn't get the chance. "I'll see you all for dinner."

The elevator dings behind me and I turn back and step on, pressing the button Flannery told me to. The doors shut immediately and I'm moving down, at the floor in seconds. When I step out, I can see the training set up and I want to go over to it immediately, feeling almost as if I'm back home. But we never had weapons and training supplies this fancy and new. I spot the spears near the back, shining and silver, and my hands twitch a little at the sight of them. Soon, I'll be able to use them and feel in place again. I might be uncertain about the strategy part of the games but using a spear is one area I'll be the best at.

I control myself from running over, knowing I'll have to wait for the others to arrive and look around, seeing only a few tributes have arrived. Not really a surprise because I'm pretty sure I'm early. Of the tributes here, there's only the pair from Six, the girl from Nine, and the boy from Ten. The pair and the girl make eye contact with me and look away immediately as I make my way towards a wall near the elevator and lean against it, crossing my arms as I wait for the others to arrive. Good, I'm already making the others afraid of me. The boy, however, doesn't flinch away from my gaze. I remember seeing him during the Reapings and seeing him in person, I can tell that he's strong and large in size. He could definitely be a threat in the arena based on strength and I hope he doesn't pick up weapons skills quickly. He stares at me, analyzing me and I glare a little and smirk, hoping he realizes I'm well trained and not someone to mess with.

He doesn't seem scared of my challenge and eventually nods his head at me. I raise an eyebrow at this, wondering what his intentions are. Does he really think I will talk to him? The tributes from the other career districts this year might not be what I would have liked but I'm keeping the loyalty we've had for years. He almost looks as if he's ready to come over and speak to me but the elevators open and before I can look over, I hear someone shout my name excitedly. "Glacia!"

I fight not to roll my eyes as I look over at Ryoko walking towards me quickly, looking way too excited about this. Lorelei follows behind him and rolls her eyes at him, almost making me chuckle a little. I'm glad I'm not the only one annoyed with how excited Ryoko is to be competing in the games. I'm excited too but I'm also taking this very seriously. I realize there is a chance that I might die but it almost seems as if he doesn't realize this and views the games as an opportunity to get dressed up in the Capitol and play with fancy weapons. Great. I look over at the boy from Ten and he's just giving me a look asking if I'm really taking this boy as an ally and I glare at him, not liking that people are viewing this alliance as a joke already. But I turn towards the pair from One and smile confidently at them. "Morning. Ready to start training?"

Ryoko starts rambling excitedly about training and I nod at him, blocking him out as I turn to Lorelei who looks as if she's ready to punch her district partner. "Yeah I'm ready to use the weapons again. Just looking at them almost makes you feel back at home, you know?"

I find myself nodding in agreement with her, feeling like we actually have a lot more in common than I would like. If circumstances would have been different and I met her in Two, I probably would have wanted to get to know her. But I can't afford to get to know people here because I'll start feeling guilty when the games start. "That's exactly how I felt when I got here."

The elevator opens and we both turn to see who it is but Lorelei turns back around when it's just the pair from Three. "So, where's your district partner?"

I notice Ryoko has stopped talking and is also looking at me expectantly. I try to quickly figure out an excuse that will make it seem like we get along well, and not just me being impatient and not wanting to spend more time than necessary with him. "Oh, he got a late start this morning so he'll probably be down soon."

Ryoko accepts this immediately but Lorelei seems a little unsure about my answer. Does she already realize that Lance and I completely don't trust each other and are only allies for the benefit it will bring us for the first few days? I meet her gaze, trying not to back down and make sure she won't cause any issues. The elevator opens and I let out a sigh of relief when I spot Lance in it. But I raise an eyebrow immediately when I see one of the other occupants.

Caitlin is standing next to Lance, only a few inches away but you can see how tense they are next to each other. Well, I hope I'm the only one who can see it because I know that there's something going on between them. The boy from Nine quickly steps out past them and Caitlin hesitantly walks out first, Lance watching her for a second before also leaving the elevator. He looks around and sees us, looking a little unhappy as he makes his way towards us.

Lorelei crosses her arms as she looks him over, sizing him up and seeing how much of a threat he is. I just hope she doesn't pick up on any of the drama between us as Lance stops in front of us. He looks at Ryoko first and appears unsure of how to deal with his energy before moving his gaze to Lorelei. He doesn't flinch away from her eye contact and I'm a little surprised at him sticking up for himself and trying to make a good impression. But this could be bad for me because I can't have him doing better than me. Lance eventually holds out his hand and introduces himself. "I'm Lance."

"Lorelei," she takes his hand and I can tell she grips it tightly, trying to assert herself as being better than him. And she is. She's had training while Lance hasn't. I look around and spot Caitlin watching Lance and this exchange happening as her district partner walks over towards her from the elevators. She appears unhappy about this and I find myself once again curious about what he has planned.

I turn back to my allies as Lance shakes Ryoko's hand. "I'm Ryoko, also from District One." He pauses as he looks over Lance and I also notice how Lance looks exhausted. "Man, did you get any sleep last night? You look terrible!"

I start fearing for the worst, expecting Lance to cuss him out and ruin the alliance. But I'm shocked when he starts to chuckle and smirks at the young boy. "Not really. Glacia and I were up late discussing strategy with our mentors."

I nod my head in approval at this as Lorelei looks at him skeptically. Can't really blame her but I'm just happy with his good response. "And when do we get to hear these plans?"

I step in and answer her after seeing the panic starting to appear on Lance's face. Clearly he didn't think that they would question his response. "You can hear them when we feel like telling you." She raises an eyebrow at this and I cross my arms at her. "Do you really want me to announce our plan in front of all of these tributes? That's a great way to get us killed on the first day!"

Lorelei looks like she's ready to punch me and I almost wish she would so I could have the chance to prove once and for all that I'm stronger than her. We stand there staring at each other, surely causing a scene but I refuse to back down from her. This is my alliance and no one will stop me from winning, especially not a girl from One.

"What's going on?" Ardos asks, causing Lorelei to finally look away from me. I'm smirking as I also turn towards the last members of our alliance, satisfied that I won this argument. Ardos has his arms crossed at us, clearly not liking the fact that something is happening between us without them being here. Anabel is standing beside him, still looking afraid but also a bit determined. Maybe she will prove to be useful in the games.

"Just a little disagreement about plans," I speak up before Lorelei can say something against me. "Lorelei seems to think that now would be a good time to discuss strategy, especially with all of the other tributes around," I gesture around us, noticing quite a few tributes watching us. Some quickly look away when they notice me paying attention to them. One red head sticks out as she tries to be discrete about looking at Lance. I turn back to Ardos who seems angry but skeptical about this. "No matter, there will be plenty of time to discuss strategy during training and once the games have started."

I look over at Lance and notice him staring at Anabel with a pained expression. Great, another ally who wants to protect the scared little girl. Just what I needed. I clear my throat and Lance looks at me. I nod my head towards the newcomers and he figures out that I want him to introduce himself. We need the others to think we're united and running this alliance.

"Lance Henderson," he shakes Ardos' hand first before holding it out to Anabel. She hesitantly takes it and I can see his gaze soften as he looks at her. I definitely need to talk to him about making sure he doesn't try to protect her.

"Ardos," the boy from Four says long after Lance is done shaking their hands. He places a hand on Anabel's shoulder and she stands up a little taller, trying to impress her district partner. "And this is Anabel."

Ryoko runs forward and starts shaking Anabel's hand. She stands there in shock as the boy moves over to Ardos who does not seem thrilled about Ryoko's energy. "Pleasure to meet you! I'm Ryoko. District One male tribute."

Ardos and Anabel look at each other, clearly trying to figure out what to think of the boy from One. I'm just glad that it seems everyone is bothered by him. Hopefully he'll be killed early and we won't have to deal with him for too long. Lorelei is rolling her eyes as she steps forward, graceful as always as she holds her hand out to the two from Four. I'm scowling a little as she introduces herself, jealous of the way she's effortlessly beautiful. "And I'm Lorelei. I'm looking forward to working with you."

"Yes, so am I," Ardos responds, a quiet settling over us as we all know the unspoken truth about this alliance. We could act like we get along all we want but eventually, there will be a point where we won't think twice about killing each other. Only one person can leave these games alive.

A gong rings, alerting us that it is time to start training. I feel relieved at this as our group walks towards the head trainer waiting in front of the stations. I've never been good at introductions and getting to know people. At least if we're training, I have an excuse to not be talking to them all the time. Ryoko grabs Anabel's arm and drags her with him, clearly deciding that he wants to train with her. Understandable since they're so close in age. Ardos follows after them, still looking concerned about her. I've never understood how someone could be so devoted to protecting someone younger than them like that. But I've never had close friends and with no siblings, I never had anyone to even think about keeping safe. Only Grandma and look where that has gotten me.

Lorelei stops between me and the other Three, arms crossed and looking straight ahead at the trainer. I'm sure she's already thinking about ways to kill me. Let her plan all she wants. She won't be successful.

"Thanks for covering for me," Lance whispers on my left and I glance out of the corner of my eye at him. He seems genuine about it. Maybe he has finally realized just how important it is to have an alliance that isn't constantly arguing.

I nod my head at him and he moves away slightly. I try paying attention to the trainer as the rest of the tributes move closer, keeping their distance from our group.

"Welcome, tributes," the head trainer begins and I pay attention to the woman. She stands tall in front of us, arms behind her back as she looks at all of us. "For the next three days, you will be free to move about the stations behind me. You may not fight among the other tributes. There are plenty of trainers here to help you practice each station. After that, you will have a private session with the Gamemakers to present your skill of choice," she gestures to the side and I notice the men and women standing in a room overlooking the center. Lisia is standing in the very front, nodding her head in approval at the tributes she has this year. Her eyes seem to lighten a little in excitement as she looks at my alliance. Good, let her notice us. I plan on making sure everyone knows me as the victor so might as well get started with the Head Gamemaker paying attention to me.

I turn back to the trainer, ready for her to be done so that I can finally start training. "Do not ignore the survival stations. Many of you want to go right to the weapons," she looks directly at me and my allies and I stare back, confident in my skills. Of course they taught me how to start a fire and set traps back in Two. "Many of you will die from the elements. Infection, dehydration, or the wrong plant can kill you just as easily as another tribute."

The woman pauses to stare at all of us, letting her words sink in. Finally, she nods her head at us. "Very well. You may begin."

My allies turn towards me as some of the other tributes start hesitantly move towards the station. I look around at the five people I'm supposed to work with, wondering just how to get through the next few days of training with them. Lorelei, Ryoko, and Ardos all look like they're ready to start training. Lance is hesitant as always and keeps glancing around at Caitlin. Anabel is afraid like always and trying to hide behind Ardos. "Okay, let's get training. We should all practice with the weapons we're most comfortable with."

Lorelei nods her head and starts walking towards the bows as Ryoko runs past her, scaring some of the tributes he passes on his way towards the knives station. Ardos starts leading Anabel over to the tridents, something I'm not really surprised about with them coming from District Four. I wait and watch them start at the station, wanting to watch them before moving to the spears. Ardos picks up two tridents, hands one to Anabel and starts demonstrating what to do. He throws his perfectly, affirming my belief that he had some training. Her throw doesn't make it to the targets but Ardos doesn't give her time to be disappointed before giving her another shot. At least I don't have to worry about them.

I turn towards Lance, noticing he hasn't moved yet. He's staring around at the weapons, unsure about everything. "Where do I even start?"

I take in his tall build and strong muscles, trying to figure out what weapons might suit him. "Hmm, I would say try out the swords, maybe some of the maces. I think they'll suit you well."

Lance looks unsure at this and I know we need to start moving towards the weapons before the others start to notice us. I motion for him to walk with me and he follows me. "And how should I figure out which one to stick with?"

I stop him before the swords station, seeing the trainer look at us hopefully. I give Lance a stern look, needing him to get it together before our other allies start to notice. "Lance you need to get it together. You might not like this whole thing but you need to start acting like a career. And that means learning how to use weapons." I nod my head towards the trainer and Lance stares over at him as I continue. "Ask the trainers for help. They know more about their specific weapons than I do." Lance still looks unsure about this so I give him a shove towards the swords. "If you need a break, go practice some survival stuff. We both know you need all the training you can get."

Lance looks back at me with a glare at my comment but continues to the station. I wait until he's picked up a sword before finally making my way over to the spears. There's so many options for me to choose for and I run my hand over them, admiring them before settling on a silver one that's my height. Once in my hand, I smile satisfied at the etchings to give myself a good grip on it. The trainer for my station approaches me, smiling as I eye out the targets. "Hello, I'm Josephine. Now am I correct in assuming you know what you're doing with that?"

I smile at this before throwing the spear at the farthest target, landing right in the center. I turn back towards Josephine as she passes me another spear. "That would be correct."

"Then how about I make things more interesting?" I raise an eyebrow at this and she smiles over at me. "I can give you dummies that will move."

"I would like that," I answer before throwing the spear at another target, hitting the center once again. The adrenaline of using the weapons is starting to kick in, erasing the worries I've been having over the alliance. This is something I've been doing for years and it makes me feel at home again.

Josephine gives me a nod, looking happy at my response. I feel like it's not often that someone comes to her station and actually talks to her. "Very well. Give me a few minutes to set up."

I cross my arms as I lean against the side of the spear rack, watching the other tributes go about the stations. Lorelei must have lots of training using a bow because she keeps hitting the bullseyes of targets. It will definitely be useful to have someone in the alliance that is skilled at a long range weapon. I turn my gaze to the knife station and see that Ryoko is at least hitting the targets. The trainer is standing by, arms crossed as she watches the kid. With how much Ryoko is annoying everyone, I'm wondering if I should just kill him in the bloodbath.

No, that's a bad idea. Lorelei will probably turn on me immediately. She might not like her district partner, but I don't doubt she would be more loyal to him than me.

Ardos is still swinging tridents around, striking dummies. Anabel is surprisingly not at his side anymore. I look around and find her sitting at the fire making station with a red head I'd like to ignore but she keeps glancing over at Lance.

Lance is still at the swords but looking very frustrated as the trainer continues to encouraging him to practice. Some of the tributes nearby have noticed this and I hope he fixes this soon because it's not going to look good on the rest of us. He eventually throws down the sword and starts walking towards the fire making station, clearly having noticed that Caitlin is there. But I don't understand why he will go there when Anabel is also there.

With Lance no longer at the sword station, the boy from Ten has started smirking as he throws weights around. This is not good. I can't have people viewing Lance as weak because then they'll think the same thing for our alliance.

I guess I'll just have to distract them and make them afraid of us.

* * *

"Glacia you were so awesome at those spears!" Ryoko continues talking excitedly about my display at the weapons station earlier and I'm smirking as we sit down at a table for lunch. Ryoko sits across from me, Lorelei to his left, and Anabel and Ardos to my left. Lance has sat to my right, conveniently being able to look over at Caitlin who is a few tables away with her district partner.

"I have to agree with Ryoko," Ardos adds as I begin eating the gourmet sandwich the Capitol has provided for lunch. The praise from the boys is much appreciated because it means they probably view me as the definite leader of our alliance. He nods over at Lorelei before continuing, "And Lorelei, you were also very skilled with your bow."

"Useful weapon skills to have," Lance adds halfheartedly, trying to stay in the conversation so he can seem part of the alliance. He might be able to fool the others but I saw him go talk to Caitlin. They would whisper animatedly to each other before looking around to make sure no one was paying attention. And the other tributes couldn't care at all about them. Lance made sure they didn't care about him with his poor display with the swords.

Now with me, oh the other tributes were terrified. I thrived at using the moving targets shaped like bodies, loving the thrill of the challenge. And each target I hit in a spot that would prove to be fatal, not the easiest task when throwing spears. It took years of training but I'm very proud of being able to use spears quickly and fatally.

Ryoko is still excited about the weapons and speaks around a mouthful of food, making me want to punch him for lacking manners. "So what made you choose to train with spears?"

Lorelei looks unhappy about the attention on me but yet interested to figure out more about me. I have to be careful around her to make sure I don't say anything that could be used against me. "Well they're useful for a long range weapon. You can't ignore how useful it can be when someone is running away from you and you won't be able to catch them." I shrug as Ryoko looks at me enraptured by my training. "And it's also useful in a close fight to block weapons. So I guess I picked it because it's a great offensive weapon and can also be used for defense."

"That's why I like using tridents," Ardos says, taking the focus off of me. I lean back and eat my sandwich, wanting to let the others talk so I can observe. "Aside from it being used all the time in Four."

Yes, Ardos did prove to be talented with a trident. But that seems to be the only weapon he is fully trained in. He tried to teach Anabel different weapons and while he could hit the targets with swords and axes, they weren't all hits that could be fatal.

"I don't really like the tridents," Anabel says quietly from the other side of Ardos. I could already tell that from watching them together. She's too small to be able to use one of the large weapons.

But he didn't take her to the one station that will probably fit her best. "Hey Ryoko, why don't you show Anabel how to use some knives after lunch? I think they'll suit her well."

"Of course! Oh you'll love using knives," Ryoko starts leaning over the table towards Anabel, thrilled to have someone to work with. And that will be good for him. Teaching someone will keep him distracted from bothering the rest of us while maybe helping Anabel out. Who knows, maybe having someone close to her age showing her things might start to boost her confidence.

I look over at the girl to see her tentatively smile at Ryoko. "I would like that."

"I'll come with you," Ardos immediately says, throwing a glare in my direction at the suggestion. He must think I made it out of a place of pure disregard for their safety in the games. It's quite the opposite though.

Anabel holds up a hand to him and he starts frowning. "That's really not necessary." Ardos must still look unhappy because she continues. "I know you want to go train without having to babysit me. I can see it in your eyes as you watch Glacia and Lorelei," I glance at the girl from One and she looks just as surprised as I am about this. I wasn't aware that Ardos felt that way. "I don't know what promise you made to yourself but I can protect myself. But I can't learn when you hover and barely let me touch anything."

Ardos crosses his arms at the girl as she starts to realize the extent of her outburst. I'm wondering how we can keep this version instead of the one that seems so scared. I glance at the other allies and notice them watching this situation curiously. Finally, Ardos speaks up. "I guess I can't baby you forever. But I can't help it when I've known you since you were still in diapers," he nudges her and starts chuckling as she starts blushing in embarrassment. But she smiles at him, happy with the situation.

I cross my arms, satisfied at how I just improved our situation. I did not expect it to go this well. I look over at Lance who has stayed quiet throughout this, curious about what he's thinking. He notices me paying attention and quickly looks away from Caitlin. I turn my gaze to the girl who hastily looks anywhere but at me. What are these two planning? Clearly Lance has something in mind because he wouldn't have approached her at the survival stations. But I know I need to get him more involved with this alliance before the others start to notice he's not completely dedicated to making this work. "Lance, you should try out the knives too. I know you don't really have training and the swords weren't going too well for you earlier."

Lance immediately starts scowling at this and I can see Lorelei smirk a little out of the corner of my eyes. Good, I've made Lance more determined to take this seriously and learn how to fight while also making him look not as tough in front of the others. "What a great idea, Glacia," he forces himself to smile at me before turning to Ryoko who is even more energetic at the news of having two people to train with. I really hope he stops acting that way once the games start because I already can't stand it. No one should be that excited about having to kill people. Yes, I wanted to be in the games but to prove myself, not to enjoy killing. "So kid, I think I can beat you."

Ryoko scoffs at this and I hear Anabel laugh at this, probably knowing Lance with fail miserably. Her laugh makes Lance smile a little and I put this knowledge away for his weaknesses. "Yeah right, I've been training with them for a year now. No way you'll beat me!"

"Want to make it a bet then?" Lance suggests and I can see Ryoko's lighten at the idea. "Winner gets their pick of best knife in the Cornucopia."

"You're on!" Ryoko says as the bell rings, signifying that lunch is over. He gets up immediately and starts running towards the knife station.

Lance gets up and starts following him, laughing a little. It's the first time I've seen him look genuinely happy this whole time and I start contemplating why the younger kids seem to have this effect on him. I won't know until I watch them first. He might try to be discrete, but I notice him smile over at Caitlin as he walks to the station.

Anabel jumps up from her chair and quickly chases the two boys as Ardos watches hesitantly. "Wait for me, I want to be part of this bet!"

I'm smirking a little at those three as I return my gaze to Ardos and Lorelei. While the bet might seem childish, it got the attention of the other tributes and showed them that we're not afraid of the weapons. And hopefully, we scared them a little at their eagerness. If not, what I'm about to suggest will definitely do that. "So how about the three of us have a friendly completion across the weapons to see which district gives the best training?"

Ardos nods his head immediately, not afraid to admit now that he's been wanting to train without Anabel. Lorelei laugh lightly before holding out her hand to me. I shake it, both of us gripping tighter than we need to in order to prove who's in charge. Doesn't matter, I'm about to prove it with this challenge. "You're on."

* * *

"I was successful with everything," I say proudly to Darach as I sit down on the couch next to him. I let out a sigh of relief at being able to rest, my body feeling a little sore from sparing with one of the trainers. But it's a good feeling, something that makes me feel back at home. Training and competing against the others was actually fun, something I won't ever admit to Darach. He won't approve of me getting close to any of these tributes when they are just as determined to make it home as I am. But how can you avoid that when training with them reminds you of being back home in Two's training center?

"That's great," Darach gives me a pat on the shoulder as he smiles proudly at me. I watch Roxanne whisper something to Lance before they go to the elevator and press the button to go up. "Don't worry about them," he says as he leans closer and drops the volume of his voice. "She just wants to go up to that garden of her's so they can talk in private."

I'm confused about what he's talking about as I watch Lance and Roxanne step into the elevator and wait for the doors to close. Who knows where they're going but it doesn't matter. This means I have time to talk to Darach without worrying about being overheard. I turn back to him and smile. "So want to hear about how I intimidated the others and learned about the strengths and weaknesses of my allies?"

Darach nods my head and I begin retelling him everything that happened that day. I discuss how Ryoko is too excited about the games and that it will probably lead to his death because he'll run into a trap. I mention Lorelei being competitive with me for being the leader of the pack. Darach doesn't seem surprised when I mention how Anabel will probably cause Ardos' death because of his protectiveness of her. I leave out Lance talking to Caitlin, not wanting to start that argument again. But I do bring up calling Lance out in front of the others for being untrained. I tell him what I observed about the other tributes, mostly how they seemed afraid of us except for the boy from Ten.

Darach is the most interested when I get to the competitions. "That's very clever. Careers love a good competition – just look at what makes them join the games. I doubt they realized it was all a trick to see where they are weak." He smiles approvingly at me. "You'll have to thank Lysander when you get back for teaching you the mind games."

"Oh I will," I'm smiling at his comment, knowing he doesn't give out praise often. "So Lorelei is the best at using a bow. She is good with throwing knives and can hold herself in a fight with axes or hand to hand combat. But she's terrible at using swords and spears."

Darach is staring off at the wall as he takes in my observations, trying to piece together what the girl is like. "Hmm, it seems she likes using the lightweight long distance weapons." He drums his fingers on the side of the couch as he looks back at me. "Not my personal choice but a good one. What about Ardos?"

I chuckle a little before continuing. "Well you can tell he comes from District Four. Tridents all the way." I pause and shrug at him, not really surprising him with this. But it's hard to expect more from a fifteen-year-old. Lorelei is only a year younger than me so she at least has a few more years of training over Ardos. "He proved to be good with spears but I'm guessing that's just because of how similar they are to tridents."

"Anything else noticeable?" Darach asks and I shrug once more. Ardos won't prove to be very much competition against me with the training he hasn't yet completed.

"He can fight well with no weapons, but otherwise, he's bad with the other weapons." Darach seems unsurprised by this as I pause, curious about Ardos' training. "Does District Four not train their tributes in other weapons?"

Darach stares at me, almost looking like he's trying to think of how he wants to respond to me. It could be an unfair advantage to share Four's training secrets. But then again, maybe he doesn't know. "I believe they teach the other's later on. They're not like us where we give you all of the options from the start. They will focus on using a trident because it's also beneficial to their trade."

I nod my head at this. It makes sense now why Ardos performed poorly at most of the weapons. But this just means that we need to make sure the Gamemakers give us tridents so Ardos can be useful. I lean back against the couch, relaxing for a few seconds as I consider what I've learned today.

"So final recap of the other tributes now that you've spent a day training with them?" Darach asks, allowing me to voice my thoughts and figure out where the alliance stands. This method has always proved to work with us when training in the past so I can figure out what I need to work on.

"Ryoko has potential if he can get past his eagerness," I begin, working my way through the tributes in my alliance. "Lorelei might prove to be big competition because she is trained and seems to want to be the leader." Darach nods his head in agreement before motioning with his hand for me to continue. "Anabel started to make some progress towards fighting for herself but I don't think she'll last long in the arena. Ardos isn't a threat either."

Darach raises an eyebrow at me noticeable leaving a person out. And it's mostly because I don't know how much information to tell Darach right now. I know Lance has something planned with Caitlin but until I figure it out, I don't want to mention it to Darach and have him get in an argument again and reveal that I'm on to his plan. "And what about Lance?"

I stare over at the windows, fidgeting with my hands before turning back to Darach. I hate lying to him but I guess right now, I'm just omitting things from him. "He's learning how to use swords and knives, along with some survival skills. It's hard to say how fast he's picking up on these things."

"And is he a threat to you and the others in the alliance?" Darach asks, silently asking how I view Lance's loyalty to the alliance. I think about the few times when I saw Lance talking to Caitlin and the looks they shared at lunch. But I also remember how he seemed genuinely in a good mood around the younger ones. He has weaknesses and I must make sure I use these to my advantage.

I look Darach in the eye, confident in my response. "Lance will always be a threat."

* * *

 **If you want more information about the stories, please go to my website at** **thefifthquarterquell . weebly .com** **! It is now updated through Chapter 4!**


	5. Training Day 2

**Welcome to the 125th Hunger Games!**

 **Just a few things before the story begins. A reminder that this is one story out of two that are taking place during the same time. So if you are reading this story first and plan on reading the other, you may want to read the same chapter from the other in order to avoid spoilers to the character.**

 **I will update the stories on the same day, that way once the games start you can choose which story to read first as there will be some spoilers about what might happen to the other character.**

 **I'll let you begin the story. As always, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. Any comments are good comments.**

 **Let the Games begin!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5:**

I reach out to knock on the door in front of me before hesitantly pulling my hand back. This is stupid, I shouldn't be getting nervous about talking to Lance. He says he's in my alliance so I should be comfortable with talking to him about making sure he doesn't throw his life away for Anabel. I saw the way he would look at her during training yesterday. For some reason, he's also being protective of her and I can't have a second person in my alliance ready to die for a girl who won't end up winning the games. And I don't feel like having to fight both of them when it comes down to it in the end.

So what's stopping me from just knocking on Lance's door? The image of a red-headed girl flashes in my head and I know that's why I'm hesitating. I know Lance doesn't want to stick around with me and the others. But I don't know what he's planning with Caitlin and I'm worried that if I say the wrong thing, I'll convince him to leave immediately. I don't doubt that if Lance leaves before the games even start, I'll lose everyone else. Who wants to follow someone who can't even keep their district partner with them?

I take a deep breath before finally knocking on the door, knowing I need to have this conversation already. A few seconds pass as I anxiously shift around, hoping a little that Lance just won't answer. But I know he will because we already ate breakfast and have to get ready to go downstairs. The door opens and I see Lance there, outfit mismatched as he was in the middle of changing into the training outfit. He raises an eyebrow in surprise at seeing me there. I'm sure he thought it was going to be Roxanne. "Yes?"

He doesn't seem like he's angry at me which I suppose is good progress from the first day together where he couldn't stand me. But he looks hesitant that I'm standing there. "Well, I figure we should go down together today so the others think we're good allies," I start, trying to avoid bringing up the real reason I came to talk to him. He seems to realize this and looks at me expectantly. I sigh before continuing, "Lance, you know that you can't keep Anabel alive and also win, right?"

Lance seems a little shocked at this but also like he knew I would bring this up eventually. Yes, we both were aware that he was getting a little protective of her. He runs a hand through his hair before leaning against the door frame. "I know that," he says a bit defensively and I cross my arms, a habit that I've seemed to have picked up when people start giving me attitude. Lance sighs at my reaction. "Look, I don't want to get in an argument with you right now. I know, shocking," he adds sarcastically when he sees my surprise. "I realize that I can't protect her forever. I want to win these games just as much as you." Lance pauses and in the few seconds of silence, I'm sure he's also thinking about how the Gamemakers will make us fight each other eventually.

"Then why are you so protective of her?" I ask him curiously when it seems like he might not continue. I watch the different emotions pass on his face, going from anger to confusion to sadness. The anger doesn't seem directed at me and I start questioning when things shifted to the point where we can have a conversation without one of us wanting to hit the other. Somewhere in the past couple of days, we've started to understand that the other just wants to get home to their family and will do whatever it takes.

Lance finally shrugs at me. "I don't know what it is about her. I think it's because she's so young and has barely had a chance to live." He chuckles a little and I raise an eyebrow as I wait for him to explain. "You know, I don't feel this way about Ryoko at all and he's younger than Anabel. But I suppose it's because he wants to be here."

"Yeah but he's so annoying," I add and Lance smiles a little at my comment. For a second I think about if we would have actually talked in the districts and not been so closed off to getting to know people. I think we would have gotten along if the situation was different. Once again I find myself wishing the Quarter Quell hadn't have gotten rid of volunteers. This whole thing would have been so much easier if I could have come here with Damon. We both understood that only one of us could win and we would have had no problem with our alliance.

But here I am with a boy who seems at times that seems more willing to protect others than himself. I find myself respecting a little that he is so willing to throw his life aside for someone he barely knows. He's a better person than me but I still can't let him win. "That's true," Lance responds and chuckles a little before becoming serious. "But with Anabel, you don't have to worry about me dying for her. Sure, I'll try to keep her safe in the games. But we both know she doesn't have it in her to win."

I'm glad to hear him say this but his actions don't match with what he's telling me. "Then why be protective of her right now?" I ask him a little puzzled.

Lance looks at me a little amused like he is getting something that I'm not. This makes me a little frustrated as he shakes his head lightly at me. "Haven't you ever had someone you wanted to protect?" _Yes, and it's why I'm here_ , I want to tell him. But I keep it to myself, not wanting him to take advantage of this weakness. After a few seconds pass in silence, he frowns slightly before continuing. "Is it wrong to make sure her last few days alive are enjoyable?"

I stare at him, realizing that Lance really is a good person and doesn't deserve to be in these games. Me, well, I've spent the last few years training and don't think twice about punching someone in the face. If anyone deserved to win, it should be him. But the Hunger Games aren't fair and I intend on winning. I shrug at him and turn to start walking towards the main room, not wanting him to see my conflicting thoughts about him. "Be ready in a few minutes."

"You don't have to be as cold as your name," I hear him mutter as I walk away and I chuckle a little as he shuts the door. His comment doesn't really hurt because I would rather have him not like me that much. It will make things a little easier when the games start. Now if only I could convince myself to stop liking him more.

I sigh as I enter the main room, happy to see no one else out here. The couch looks inviting and I immediately head over, stretching out and putting my feet up on the table. I need to push these thoughts to the back of my mind right now. Training today is a much more important issue than the inevitable fight with Lance. And I've been letting my guard down too much around him.

I lean my head back and stare up at the ceiling. _Okay Glacia, focus._ Making goals for myself yesterday definitely helped to calm me down before training so I should do that again.

First we need to go downstairs. Hopefully Lorelei won't think there's any issues between me and Lance if we arrive together unlike yesterday. And that might also stop him from having any conversation with Caitlin.

Hmm, second thing I should do today is make sure Lance doesn't talk to Caitlin. Maybe that will stop any plans that they are forming. Probably not but it doesn't hurt to try. And having Lance around the others might help solidify my claim as leading the alliance.

What else do I need to do? I don't need to learn any skills. And I don't need to worry about forming an alliance today since I took care of that yesterday. Alright, what would Darach want me to do?

He would want me to watch the competition and figure out their weaknesses. Well, I'm sure there will be plenty of weaknesses among them. I wasn't really impressed by them from the past few days but we'll see if today changes my mind.

I clap my hands and stand up, feeling determined now that I have a solid plan for what I'm going to do today. I hear a scoff from behind me and turn around to see Lance standing at the end of the hallway, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised at me. He looks a little amused at me and I start scowling, not wanting him to be laughing at me. "Well if you're ready, stop standing around there and let's get going."

Lance rolls his eyes at me but listens to me and starts walking towards the elevator. I follow after him, hoping that he's not going to be angry all day because it will be miserable pretending to be allies with him. I don't know what caused the sudden mood change because earlier I thought we were getting along just fine. Maybe it's the stress of the games. I know I'm definitely feeling it.

Lance angrily presses the button for the elevator and I raise an eyebrow at this. Yep, he's definitely stressed about the games. We wait in silence as the elevator moves towards us and I can't help but think about how very soon we need to act friendly towards each other. Today is going to be exhausting.

The doors open and Lance walks in first. I take a deep breath as I step in, preparing myself to deal with the others.

* * *

I let out an angry sigh as another spear hits the middle of the target. Why can't I keep control of my alliance? Lance might have thought that he was being discrete when he passed by Caitlin. But I saw him whisper something to her briefly. I can't figure out what he's trying to plan with her and it bothers me so much knowing I'm not really in control of everyone in my alliance. And I know he's planning something against me.

Josephine silently hands me another spear, letting me continue to get my anger out by using the spears. I throw this one and it goes halfway through a dummy and she chuckles a little. I glance over at her as she leans against another spear. "I think they are dead now. Clearly you're angry about something. Want to talk about it?"

I watch her intently, trying to figure out if she has any ulterior motive. But her face looks genuine that she wants to help me out. How did I manage to find someone in the training center that is concerned about me? But a glance around shows that there are too many tributes nearby that could possibly overhear and I turn back to Josephine, feeling unsure if I should tell her. "Are you even allowed to discuss strategy stuff with tributes?"

Josephine shrugs at this as she passes me another spear. She nods towards the dummies and I carefully line up a shot and throw the spear. As soon as it strikes the center of the chest, I turn back towards her, my arm starting to feel a little sore from the constant throwing I've been doing for the past fifteen minutes. "Probably not. But we're here to help out the tributes so if anyone says anything, I'll just argue that I'm helping you."

We both know that the 'anyone' means the Gamemakers. Looking up at the ledge that they are gathered on, I see that at least half of them are sitting around and eating. The other half that are watching tributes are focused on other tributes. They probably paid attention to me and my allies yesterday and don't care to see us do the same things today. But most importantly, Lisia Arune isn't watching me.

I turn back to Josephine who is waiting for me. I contemplate if I should tell her, realizing that she is actually concerned about me and wants to help. It reminds me of my family and I realize how much I miss them right now. The fact that talking to her makes me feel like I do when talking to my family makes me decide on telling her. "I just don't feel like I have control over my alliance," I drop my voice as I say this, knowing some of them of my allies and even the boy from Ten are at stations nearby.

Josephine laughs lightly at this and I start getting offended that she is laughing at me and start getting ready to block of my emotions and not trust anyone. But she quickly explains herself, "I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing at the fact that you have already realized no one ever has control of the alliance in the games. Most careers don't figure this out and it's caused many of them to get blindsided."

"How is that a good thing?" I say as I take another spear and throw it at a target, mostly so that the others don't catch on that we're discussing anything other than how to use this weapon.

"It means you will probably live longer than the others," Josephine shrugs at me and passes me another spear. "Maybe even win this thing." She glances around before leaning a little closer and dropping her voice. "I'm not supposed to discuss the other tributes with people but I really like you. Personally I think you're the best trained here."

Her comment makes me feel proud and brings back some of the confidence that I had been losing over the problems with Lance barely being part of my alliance. And I know I do have what it takes to win and I'm going to. I have to come home for Grandma. "Thank you for the compliment. But I'm still worried about trusting the others."

"You shouldn't trust them at all. The allies that careers have are the most likely cause of death for them," Josephine lets her comment sink in for a few seconds, not passing me another spear. "Now go train at a different station before you injure your arm from being so aggressive with throwing spears. That's one way to make sure you don't win the games. And who knows, doing something else might clear your mind a bit."

I smile at her, feeling happy that I took the time to talk to her yesterday. Having a person to talk to that doesn't have any other motives is extremely helpful and my anger at Lance is starting to go away. Not entirely but at least I'm not seeing red anymore. "Thank you. You really did help me."

"That's what I'm here for. I know you'll be back later so go enjoy some other station," Josephine says and smiles genuinely at me before I start walking away.

I look around at the stations, not wanting to do any weapons right now so I can give my arm a break and not needing any of the survival stations. This severely limits my options but near the back wall I spot some machines for running on and I head towards them, knowing I should keep up my endurance. One thing I know for sure from watching past games is that I will probably be doing lots of running.

I get on the machine and start off at a jog, slowly working my way up to faster speeds. As I focus on breathing and moving my legs, I can feel my mind clearing up and I start thinking of my goals for the day again. The location of this machine gives me a great spot to observe the other tributes.

I first look around for Lance, wanting to see if he is making any attempt to work at the same stations as Caitlin today. I'm a little surprised to see him among the weapons, this time working with the maces. But the look on his face shows that he isn't enjoying this weapon despite it seeming like he's getting the hang of it. Surely he won't be at this station for long. I start smiling smugly a little that he is wasting time on these other weapons, knowing it means he won't be extremely good at just one like I am. This is going to work to my advantage in the games, assuming he stays alive long enough for the Gamemakers to force us to fight.

I suppose that will depend on when he tries to leave the alliance. I don't doubt that he'll try to do it eventually, if not right away. When he does attempt it, we'll see if he's smart enough to try to do it when I'm not aware because I won't let him leave alive.

Next I look around to find a certain red head that I really don't like for messing with my plans. When I do find her, my eyebrows raise in shock. With her at the axe station is the girl from I think Three and it looks like they are allies now. Or Caitlin is just really friendly and helping the girl learn. No, they must be allies. This certainly makes things more confusing. What have I missed with her and Lance that she's now getting other allies? And what the hell is he planning?

I start picking up my pace as I can feel my anger coming back. This day is not going the way I would have liked it to. Alright, Glacia, deep breaths, or, as deep as you can when you're almost sprinting. Focus on the other tributes. No point getting angry over something you can't control.

As my legs start to get tired and sweat is dripping down my back, I slow down as I continue my observations of the other tributes, keeping my gaze away from Lance and Caitlin. I look at the others in my alliance, wondering what they're up to today. Anabel and Ryoko are working together again and when I see them laughing together, I can't help but smile a little at them. My conversation with Lance earlier echoes in my head as I watch them have some fun together and I understand why he feels the way he does. Those two will be dead within a few weeks, if not days. Is it wrong to want them to be happy right now?

I turn my gaze away from them, not liking this feeling inside me. I can't keep feeling bad for these other people. Not when they will have to die if I'm to go home. This whole experience is so much harder than I ever expected it would be and I don't like not feeling confident about my ability to win. But I must get through this.

So I look around at the other tributes that aren't in my alliance, wanting to know how much of a chance I have against them. First thing I notice is an alliance that is half the size of mine. Three of the older tributes are clearly allied together and working on practicing some of the weapons together. While they're not doing too well, if they were to catch one of my allies alone, it's possible that they could win that fight by numbers. One of them will definitely have to die in the bloodbath so we can eliminate that threat.

Sitting together at the edible plants station are the two from Eleven. I guess those two have decided to stick together through this unlike most district pairs. But from only a couple minutes of watching them, I can tell that they're both terrified and won't be a threat.

And then there are two of the youngest tributes huddling close together at the fire making station. I think they're from Three and Six but either way, they aren't a concern for me. Tributes that younger very rarely win the games.

A lot of the other tributes are still on their own but there is a pair of older tributes working together on the ropes climbing station. Maybe they'll be a threat because their larger than the others but all I notice now is that they'll be good at climbing away from me.

But there is one person that I notice at the weapons station that keeps glancing around at me and my other allies. The boy from Ten is clearly trying to impress us but I don't understand why he is trying so hard. It's clear that we have a very large alliance already and adding another person is not a good idea. But he is clearly strong and is picking up on the weapons very quickly. Either way, he's one to watch out for.

As my lungs are ready to quit on me and my legs burn, I slow down the machine. I step off the machine and slowly walk towards the other tributes, feeling exhausted from running. I didn't pay attention to how long I was running for but clearly it was a while. Was I that distracted watching the other tributes to not notice the pain in my legs? I will definitely be feeling this pain tomorrow and will have to take it easy for the rest of training to make sure I haven't exhausted myself before the games even start.

As I make my way towards the weapons stations, Anabel and Ryoko come up to me, looking to excited. I brace myself for dealing with them, feeling too exhausted currently to feel any kindness towards them. Ryoko is the first one to speak up, bouncing around excitedly as the start walking on either side of me. "So Glacia, obviously you're really good at using spears."

I wearily glance at him as we pause near the spears station. Josephine is looking at us curiously, probably wondering if all three of us will be coming over. "Yes, I am," I agree with him hesitantly, still unsure what the two want from me. I look around and see Lorelei and Ardos whispering to each other, occasionally glancing over at me. Are they already planning against me?

As I turn back to Anabel and Ryoko, I find myself starting to get angry at the fact that I apparently can't hold an alliance together at all. I expected Lorelei to plot against me because it's clear she wants to be in charge. But bringing in Ardos? Well that's going to make things challenging. At this rate, the alliance won't last past the first two days.

Anabel speaks up, looking at me expectantly. "Well you're so good at using them that we were thinking maybe you could show us how to use them?" Ryoko starts shaking his head excitedly and I wonder what to even say to them because I'm too tired to teach people right now.

I run a hand over my face, cringing slightly at the amount of sweat there before sighing. I discretely wipe my hand on my pants as I look at these two kids in front of me. Both of them look innocent and I hate being the one to show them how to take a life. But isn't it better to give them a chance in the games? Maybe not at the risk of looking weak in front of other tributes for showing them sympathy. "I'm not a very good teacher," I finally say, hoping that will get them to stop asking me.

But big surprise, Ryoko is still insistent. "Doesn't matter! You could probably help us out a lot!"

"Please, Glacia?" Anabel adds and I let out a sigh at seeing her look up at me all sweet and innocent. She almost has me say yes right then but then I remember that I need to not start feeling protective towards her.

"I really don't think I would be helpful to you," I finally tell them and glance over at Lorelei and Ardos to avoid looking at the sadness on the younger two's faces, but instead see the older two still whispering. My anger continues to grow and I take it out a little on them as I nod my head towards Josephine. "Go ask her for help. She can teach you a lot more than I can."

I start walking away from them before they can say anything towards them, not sure where exactly I'm heading before Lorelei waves me over. I try not to scowl as I go towards them at the bow and arrow station. When I reach them, I cross my arms and Ardos beckons me closer to them. "What is it?"

Lorelei leans closer to me and whispers as she looks around, making sure we're not overheard. "We have a shadow following us around."

I raise an eyebrow at this, waiting for an explanation from the two of them. Ardos is the first one to answer me with a slight nod of his head. I try to be discrete about looking in the direction he nodded. When I see they're talking about the boy from Ten who is now at the station next to us and looking over often, I turn back to them and look at them expectantly. "Yeah, what about him?"

"Well surely you've noticed him training," Ardos says skeptically as if he doesn't understand why I don't see what they're getting at.

"I have," I answer, still not sure what the big deal is. "He's not bad, but won't be a threat against all of us." Assuming the two in front of me don't betray me, but I don't mention this.

"He's too interested in us," Lorelei shakes her head at this. "And he's not scared of us like the others. It just doesn't make sense."

"So what do you suppose we do about him?" I ask them, feeling annoyed about this too. All I want to do right now is go relax on my own yet everyone keeps bugging me. Is Lance going to come up next and say something to annoy me?

I never get an answer from them as the boy approaches us. I stand up a little straighter and cross my arms, wanting to make sure that he knows I'm competition to him. From the corner of my eyes, I can see Lorelei and Ardos do the same as the stand on either side of me. I've got to admit, we should look pretty intimidating right now. And while we might be all planning how to get rid of the other, right now we look like a team.

The boy stops in front of us, taller than all three of us. I notice now how his muscles are toned, probably from years of working with livestock. He brushes his black hair out of his eyes before holding out a hand to me, clearly realizing that I'm the leader here. At least someone has finally figured that out. "I'm Cyrus, District Ten," he says casually with a lopsided grin as he looks at us, not concerned at all that we're the most trained people here.

"Glacia," I respond with my arms still crossed. I study his face, trying to figure out his motives for talking to us. "This is Lorelei and Ardos," I say with a nod towards each of them.

None of us reach out to shake his hand and I find myself happy that the others are following my lead with this situation. Maybe this will help remind them that I'm in charge and it would be dumb to start fighting each other before the other threats are gone. A few seconds pass before Cyrus accepts that none of us will shake his hand and he pulls it back, a look on his face like he isn't bothered by our slight rejection. "Nice to meet you three."

"What do you want?" Lorelei asks coldly from my right, clearly not willing to put up with a casual conversation with him. I raise an eyebrow a bit at her being willing to cut to the chase, wondering a little if I should have been the one to say that.

Cyrus raises a hand defensively, still looking relaxed despite Lorelei making it clear he is not welcome right now. "No need to act as cold as her name," he says with a chuckle and gestures towards me. I narrow my eyes at him, hating when people make a joke out of my name. "I just came to offer myself as a member of your alliance."

Ardos speaks up from the other side of me, sounding tougher than I've seen him so far. "Our alliance is just fine, thanks."

Cyrus looks like he doesn't believe this and I wonder just how much he has observed of us so far. Is it that obvious that our alliance is barely held together? "Are you really fine? You have a guy with no training and no desire to fight," he pauses and I glance over at where Lance is walking towards us, not looking happy that something is happening with the alliance without him. "And a bunch of kids that won't last the first day."

I hold up a hand to Ardos who is about to start protesting his comment about Anabel. The last thing we need right now is to start a fight in training. I take in Cyrus, noticing that he really would be a helpful person to have as an ally. He would be better in a fight than half the people in our alliance. But I can't trust someone that doesn't have a district loyalty to be in an alliance with me. "Like Ardos said, our alliance is fine just the way it is."

Lance reaches us and looks around at the four of us hesitantly, probably thinking that a fight might happen. "What's going on?" he asks, looking back and forth between me and Cyrus. I try to figure out what he's thinking but can only see anger on his face at not being included.

"Just offering myself to your alliance," Cyrus says casually and starts taking a couple steps back as a few trainers approach, clearly thinking that this exchange might turn ugly. Cyrus looks at the other three before locking his gaze on me. I match it, wanting him to know that I could beat him in a fight. "You can give me your answer tomorrow. Hopefully you'll choose the right one."

"I'll consider it," I respond as he turns and walks away. The trainers also start moving away, realizing the instigator for a fight is also gone. I wait until Cyrus has moved a few stations away before turning towards my allies.

"Absolutely not," Ardos says to me immediately. I can see on his face that he's still not happy about the comment Cyrus made about Anabel. "I don't like that guy."

"It might not be the worst idea," Lorelei says with a shrug, turning her attention away from Ardos and towards me. The look she gives me shows that she is thinking the same thing I am. Our alliance is not as strong as we're pretending it is and Cyrus could help to fix that.

I turn towards Lance, wanting to include him in this just for the sake of keeping up the appearance that he is really part of the alliance. His face is full of hesitation and I wish so badly that I could know what's going through his mind right now. I look at him expectantly, waiting to get an answer from him. After what feels like forever but is probably only a few seconds, he gives his opinion. "I don't know. There are pros and cons to it."

"Glacia," Ardos speaks up and I turn my head towards him. "Please tell me you're not really considering adding him to our group."

"And why shouldn't she be considering it?" Lorelei counters and I can see a little hostility between them. Maybe they weren't plotting how to betray me together earlier. "It would be dumb not to see the benefits that he could bring to our alliance."

"Why don't we let Glacia actually speak and tell us what she's thinking?" Lance asks a little loudly, making the other two pause and look over at him in a little bit of surprise at him speaking up and actually being part of the alliance. Even I find myself a little shocked at him but immediately distrust it as I briefly look at him, unsure just how involved in this alliance he is.

The three of them look at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. Ardos is scowling, probably thinking that I'm going to say we should add Cyrus to our group. Lorelei, on the other hand, is looking hopeful that I'll take her side. And I am mostly in agreeance with her, but hesitant to add him. And Lance, well, he's as unreadable as always. "What I think," I begin and pause to figure out what exactly it is that I think about this situation. "Is that we should talk to our mentors about this before making any rash decisions. And then we come back tomorrow and vote as a group for if we add him or not. The decision to add someone to an alliance needs to involve everyone and if you haven't noticed, we are missing two people right now."

The three glance behind me towards where I know Anabel and Ryoko are still learning at the spears station with Josephine. When they turn back to me, I can see on all of their faces that they have realized I'm right. Ardos is the first one to begrudgingly admit it. "I suppose you're right."

Lorelei shrugs before crossing her arms. "Well I know my opinion is not going to change about this."

"And that's fine," I quickly say before Ardos can make an outburst about this situation. I let out a sigh as I run a hand over my head. How did this day end up being so exhausting? I'm ready to go to sleep already and we're not even halfway through the day. "But I still think this is something to think about overnight and not be rash about."

I glance at Lorelei and Ardos, waiting for one of them to say something in protest. But neither of them do and it's Lance that finally speaks up. "So now what do we do?"

The gong rings for lunch and I let out a chuckle at the timing of it. And I can feel myself being relieved that I can have a moment to just sit and relax for a bit with everything that's been happening this morning. "Now we go eat lunch."

* * *

"I don't know what to do," I throw my hands up in exasperation as I pace in front of Darach on the couch. He looks so relaxed with his feet propped up on the coffee table and arms resting along the back of the couch as he watches me stress. This makes me even more frustrated and I point at him accusingly. "You're supposed to be my mentor. So mentor me and help me figure out what to do!"

Darach sits up and rests his elbows on his knees. "Well do you want to have Cyrus in your alliance?"

I stop walking in front of him and cross my arms. "I don't know what I want," I let out a large sigh before throwing myself down in one of the arm chairs. "Why didn't you tell me that the hardest part of being in alliance would be keeping it together, not forming it?"

"Because I didn't know," he says and holds up a hand, stopping me from speaking just yet. "I have never seen an alliance be formed for one of my tributes that didn't involve all trained tributes. So this is new to me too."

"Great," I respond sarcastically and lean my head against the back of the chair. I stare at the ceiling for a minute, both of us silent as Darach lets me figure things out on my own. Usually I don't mind him doing this but right now, it's making me really annoyed. "So what do we do?"

"We do what we always do when making a decision," Darach says and I raise an eyebrow, wondering what exactly that is as I continue staring at the ceiling. "Figure out the pros and cons for adding Cyrus to your group."

I sigh at this but hold up my hand to start counting ideas. "Okay, pros. One," I say and hold up a finger to Darach. "He's eighteen so older than almost all of the tributes." I pause to think about another pro before continuing to count on my fingers. "Two. He's strong from working with livestock. Strength is good in a fight."

"What else?" Darach prompts and I throw my hands up, not knowing what else to say about this guy I barely know who will be dead in a couple weeks. "Come on, you know there are other reasons that adding him to your alliance would be beneficial."

I pick my head up to see him staring at me, a knowing look on his face. We both know the obvious reasons to add Cyrus but I haven't wanted to speak them out loud yet. I sigh before holding up three fingers. "Three. My alliance has two kids who don't really have any training." When I stop talking for a minute, Darach raises his eyebrows before glancing towards the hallways that Lance had run off to right after we finished dinner. "Four. I have no idea what Lance is going to do in the games and it might be useful to have an extra person if he does leave or runs off at the start."

That last point is what's really making this decision difficult. After lunch, it seemed like Lance was starting to train with a new focus and like he was starting to take this whole thing seriously. Which is really concerning because I still don't have a clue what he's planning with Caitlin. They didn't work together all day and towards the end, she even had another girl join their alliance. Whatever Lance is planning, it could be useful to have an extra person around in case it involves stabbing me while I'm asleep.

Darach lets me think for a few minutes before continuing. "Alright, give me some cons to adding Cyrus to your alliance."

I let out a sigh of annoyance, something I've been doing a lot today. Discussing the cons of adding Cyrus is a lot easier than the pros and it seems almost unnecessary to do it. I hold up my other hand and begin the counting of reasons not to add him. "One. We would have an alliance of seven people which is unheard of. It would be too difficult to keep that many people from fighting amongst ourselves once things got a little stressful." Darach nods his head in agreement at this and I feel a brief moment of pride that I can give him solid answers and reasoning for this. "Two. He might be strong but he hasn't had any training. That could cause him to make a dumb move and get killed right away." I trail off and stare over at the windows, taking in the last bit of light as the sun sets behind the Capitol. It's a brief moment of beauty that distracts me from the craziness that I got myself involved with here. It's only when Darach clears his throat that my attention is brought back to our discussion and I reluctantly continue. "And three, I guess. We don't know him at all. He could be using this as an opportunity to gain our trust and then kill us early on."

Darach nods his head, looking deep in thought as he stares at me. "Anything else?" He asks and I shake my head no, not knowing what else to say. I'm sure if I thought longer about it I could think of something else but right now, my mind is on my fluffy bed and getting some sleep. Darach points at me and gives me a smirk. "Well, there's your answer."

"What's my answer…" I trail off as I notice he's pointing at my hands and I look down. My right hand has four fingers held up for pros while the left only has three for the cons. Sure enough, my logic says there are more positive reasons to add him. But as I think about actually agreeing to this alliance change tomorrow, I can feel my stomach twisting in knots.

"Of course, that's not a definite answer," Darach says as he stands up and walks over to the chair I'm sitting in. He sits on the arm and puts a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently. The small action brings me back to the long nights at the training center in Two where he would stay well past the normal hours to train with me for longer because I was determined to master a new weapon or learn some other technique to help me fight better than the others. The memories bring a small smile to my face that hasn't been there since these games started.

Darach brings me back to the present, "Yes, you always need to take into account what your gut is saying. It will point you in the right direction."

"But what do you think I should do?" I ask him, not feeling confident with myself right now to figure out what to do with this situation. This was nothing that was brought up in training because everyone assumed we would be working with five other volunteers, not the group I'm stuck with.

Darach laughs and gives me a pat on the shoulder before standing up. "I think you should get some rest. You look exhausted right now and the worst thing you could do to yourself before the games is to not be rested. Once they start, you'll be lucky to get two hours of deep sleep each night."

"Is it really that tough in the arena? Shouldn't I be able to get more sleep with allies?" I ask him, feeling unsteady about the hardships I'm going to face in only a few days. Sure, they taught us all about what happens in the arena but I never really took those lessons to heart. But then again, I always assumed I would have someone in the arena with me that I could absolutely trust.

Darach shrugs at me and begins to walk towards the windows. "Sure, if you had someone with you to take turns watching each other's back while they slept. But you don't have that luxury. So take advantage of sleep while you can."

His tone annoys me yet I stand up, stretching out my sore muscles from getting too angry at training today. Yeah getting some sleep sounds really nice right now. "Well thanks for helping," I say as I begin walking towards my room. "Well, sort of," I add and get a chuckle from him as I walk into the hallway.

"Night, Glacia," I barely hear him say as I enter my room. At this point the sun has disappeared yet the lights from the city are still shining in my room. But right now, I don't care about the light coming in from the windows as the giant bed in the middle of the room looks so inviting.

I slowly walk over, allowing myself to fall down on my stomach as soon as I reach the bed. I let out a sigh of relief as I kick of the shoes from my feet, deciding that I don't care right now about changing out of the clothes I put on after showering when I finished training. Who cares about a few wrinkles when they'll probably just throw these clothes away tomorrow? The ache in my muscles reminds me of the days back in Two and makes me feel a little relaxed as I try to fall asleep.

But the thoughts of home don't last for long as sleep doesn't come. How can I relax when I still have no idea what to do with Cyrus tomorrow? I can't trust Cyrus to not quite literally stab me in the back if I let him join. But can I really trust Lance not to do the same thing? No, but at least I know him more than Cyrus. And either choice I make towards Cyrus is going to make someone upset with me. Lorelei clearly sees the benefits while Ardos only sees the negative parts of this. So who do I anger tomorrow?

I sigh and roll over, staring at the ceiling and just wishing I could sleep. That way I could avoid thinking about how nothing is working out the way I want them to in these games. I can't trust anyone in the alliance. Any one of them would be willing to push me in the way of harm if it was my life or theirs. And while I would do the same thing to them, it would be nice to have someone at least for a little while that I could depend on. Ardos and Anabel have each other. Lorelei might not like Ryoko but I'm sure she would still trust him more than me.

And who knows with Lance. Probably Caitlin but after today, I have no clue what they're planning. Maybe he decided she wasn't worth his time when we're all about to be fighting to the death. It would explain why he started really trying at training after lunch. Of course, that makes him a bigger threat to me if he can learn how to fight. Either way, it makes things difficult for me.

So I have an alliance with two kids that don't know how to fight, two trained people who would probably turn on me in a heartbeat, and a district partner that might run off at any point. Great. At this rate, I might be better off going on my own in the arena. I can only trust myself so it wouldn't be the worst case.

No, that's a bad idea. I would constantly have to be watching my back because I'm sure the others would all target me together. I wouldn't have a place to sleep at night or access to food and weapons. And the sponsors wouldn't like me as much. Or maybe they would like a career who has gone rogue. Probably not. It's best that I just stick with them as much as things aren't going the way they should.

I grab the blanket and pull it around me as I stand up, walking over towards the floor to ceiling windows. I sit down in front of one and watch the crowds below. If only my life could be as carefree right now as the people celebrating the games right now. A little bit of envy towards them rises up in me. Every time I had imagined myself in the games, I was part of an alliance that understood each other and how to work together. I could outwit them with my district partner, another person who volunteered to be there, and we would fight together to the end. And the main thing was that I was enjoying myself and happy to finally compete in the games to prove my worth. But now? Now I'm just questioning if I have what it takes to keep the alliance together past the first day.

This is proving to be harder than I ever imagined it would be during the years of training. But how could they have prepared me to deal with the mental aspects of having an alliance with no volunteers? I just keep feeling almost as if I can't do this and I'm not as prepared as I thought I was.

I press my forehead against the cool glass and close my eyes. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. "Glacia, you can do this. You are the most trained person here. You had the best training possible in Two and they had originally picked you to volunteer this year for a Quarter Quell. They wouldn't have done that if you weren't ready for the games." I pause for a few moments, taking deep breaths as I try to give myself a pep talk. "So what if the allies aren't who you would have wanted. Would it be better having five other trained tributes that are just as strong, if not stronger, than you? Maybe but it would also have been a lot harder to kill them to win."

Focus on winning. Focus on doing this for Grandma. Go through the motions tomorrow, make them think you're devoted to the alliance but know that you are prepared to win these games. They're all just small obstacles to get past. And you will.

I keep my head pressed against the glass, starting to feel calmed down and my worries about the games getting pushed to the back of my mind. I stare there for who knows how long, exhaustion finally kicking in and feeling too tired to move back to the bed. I open my eyes, struggling to keep them open as I watch the crowds down below. We're close enough that I can see many details about their crazy fashion and it's almost amusing to watch them partying for the games. I wonder how many of them are cheering for me to win the games…

A sound outside my door jerks me awake and I look around, confused about what is happening. I get up quietly and walk towards the door, pressing my head against it to hear if anyone is out there. All I can hear is Darach's snoring so I open the door slightly, peeking my head out to look in the hallway. No one is out there and I'm almost ready to close my door when I hear footsteps from the main room.

Curiosity gets the better of me even though I know I should be sleeping. A quick glance at the clock shows it's nearly midnight. How have I been tossing and turning for several hours? Doesn't matter now if I don't figure out who is awake. It will bug me too much and then I really won't be able to sleep.

I quietly slip out of my door, taking light footsteps as I make my way down the hallway, not wanting whoever is up to know I'm also awake. When I reach the edge of the hallway, I slowly look past the corner, not sure what to expect. Across the room is Lance, pacing in front of the elevator. It makes no sense for him to be over there but maybe he can't sleep as well and needs to just walk around.

The elevator doors open and I raise an eyebrow in surprise as I watch him look around cautiously. I duck down to the floor and hold my breath as I hope he didn't see me. I wait a second before looking again just in time to see him step on the elevator. He presses one of the buttons inside and the doors swiftly shut. As soon as the doors are closed, I move out, wanting to know where he is going. I listen to the almost silent elevator, noticing it sound as if it's getting farther away. What did Darach say last night about Roxanne? Something about a rooftop garden…

Yes, that must be where he went. I can't really blame him for wanting to get some fresh air. But part of me deep down is still a little suspicious of him, mostly because of him purposely making sure no one saw him. I wait a few minutes before starting to get tired again and ready to go back to sleep. It's not worth stressing and losing any more sleep over him. Just as I'm about to start moving away, I hear the elevator start moving down again. I briefly have time to think about where to hide if Lance gets off when it stops on a floor somewhere above me, pausing just long enough to let someone enter before moving up again.

Now I'm really suspicious because everyone that's smart should be trying to sleep right now. There's no way there would be another tribute who conveniently picked this time to go up to the roof. And would anyone else really know about the roof other than Lance?

Well, a certain red head might have been told about it.

As I walk back towards my room, I feel in my gut that Lance is definitely meeting up with Caitlin right now. And that means he is still planning something with her, no matter how hard he tries to make it seem like they don't have something going on. I can't trust a single thing Lance says about the alliance and realizing that also made me figure out the answer to the Cyrus situation. It would be a death sentence to have two people in my alliance that I absolutely can't trust.

I shut the door behind me and as I walk towards my bed, a small smirk forms on my face as I realize that I've finally started to figure out what to do about allies.

* * *

 **If you want more information about the stories, please go to my website at** **thefifthquarterquell . weebly .com** **! It is now updated through Chapter 5!**

 **Also, go check out the story Make Me a Match by goldie031! I have two tributes submitted and there are still openings and you should submit a tribute to help the story get going!**


	6. Training Day 3

**Welcome to the 125th Hunger Games!**

 **Just a few things before the story begins. A reminder that this is one story out of two that are taking place during the same time. So if you are reading this story first and plan on reading the other, you may want to read the same chapter from the other in order to avoid spoilers to the character.**

 **I will update the stories on the same day, that way once the games start you can choose which story to read first as there will be some spoilers about what might happen to the other character.**

 **I'll let you begin the story. As always, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. Any comments are good comments.**

 **Let the Games begin!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6:**

"You seem awfully cheerful today," Ardos says skeptically as he walks towards me with Anabel. He glances over at Lance next to me and raises an eyebrow at him as my district partner yawns. "And so are you. You both look exhausted, but definitely in good moods."

I laugh lightheartedly at this and see a few tributes nearby cringe at my sudden noise. Yes, let them fear me. Of course I'm in a good mood today. I've finally figured out what to do about Lance and Cyrus. Once the games start, everything will go according to plan and I know I'll win these things.

But for now, I have to play the role of ally despite the fact that I have started planning out how I can betray each of them in order to win. I smile at Ardos and cross my arms. "Well look at how much training I did yesterday. Of course I'm a little tired." Tired, but not weak. "And as for the good mood, well, last night proved to be a good night." I can see Lance look slightly concerned at my statement and I smirk a little. He thought he could get away with sneaking around but not with me around. Ardos is still looking at us skeptically, probably assuming that we made plans against him and Anabel. And it's not that false.

Anabel glances behind us and I can see her start smiling at something. "Oh here comes Ryoko and Lorelei!"

I turn towards the elevator to see Lorelei walking towards us confidently. Ryoko is looking excited about training and accidentally pushes aside the girl from Five. I roll my eyes at this as Anabel laughs, a surprising sound to hear from a girl who was so scared of everything two days ago. As Ryoko stops walking next to her and begins talking animatedly, I curiously watch the pair for a few seconds. Somehow this energetic boy has broken her out of her shell and made her willing to face the games. Maybe the two younger ones won't be so useless in the games.

Lorelei clears her throat and I turn to her, an eyebrow raised as I wait to see what she has to say. She looks around at all of us and waits until she has everyone's attention. "Well since we're all here we should get this vote over with, especially since he isn't here yet." As she falls silent, I can see some of the others look around, all of us knowing who she's talking about. When no one speaks up, Lorelei begins the vote. "I say we should add him."

"I'm with Lorelei," Ryoko says immediately and raises his hand as if we need to call on him for his answer. Lorelei nods her head approvingly before crossing her arms and looking at the pair from Four expectantly.

Ardos matches her pose and stands up a little taller as if trying to make himself look more intimidating. It would work if she wasn't taller than him. "Like I said yesterday, my answer didn't change. I say no to adding him."

Lorelei is frowning at this but doesn't really look surprised at his answer. I watch as Anabel steps forward apprehensively, looking between me and Lorelei before speaking quietly. "Ardos told me what he said about me. I don't want someone like that in our alliance."

Ryoko looks confused about her comment and I realize Lorelei never told him what Cyrus said about the younger two being dead on the first day. Maybe that would have changed his answer. Probably not, judging by the look of admiration he is giving Lorelei. So the alliance is split by district with this vote. The divisions keep growing and I start questioning how long I can keep this together. Then I realize that it's time for District Two to give their answers and I motion to Lance to go first, wanting to see what he says and enjoying him looking uncomfortable about this situation.

Lance clears his throat as he looks back and forth between Lorelei and Ardos before landing his gaze on me. I can see him try to pass a message to me silently and I wonder what it is. But it looks as if he's hoping I understand his reaction which is weird since he clearly doesn't want to be in this alliance. "I think there is too much risk in adding someone we don't know on the last day of training. Yeah he might help us but we have no idea what his secret motives are."

The look he gives me shows that we're both aware that everyone has secret plans for the games but are ignoring them for the time being. And everyone starts to look at me and I realize the power that I hold with my decision. If I say yes, we would have a tie and who knows what we would do then. Along with saying yes, I would surely get Ardos to hate me more than he currently does. But when I say no, it's the deciding vote and Cyrus won't be part of the alliance. I can feel myself starting to smirk a little at the power I hold as I give my answer, hoping it won't break the alliance completely apart. "I say no."

I watch the different reactions on the faces of my allies as the trainers start to arrive and I know we'll begin training soon. Ardos smiles at me and I can tell that he really does not like Cyrus. I have to agree with him as something about Cyrus' cocky attitude irritates me. Lorelei looks disappointed that I did not agree with her on this and I know this is going to give her more reason to try to take over the alliance. And Lance's face is the most interesting as he tries to figure out how I agreed with him. Meanwhile, Anabel and Ryoko are looking back and forth between the rest of us, probably wondering if a fight is about to happen.

But the gong rings, signaling it is time to start our last day of training. I look around and notice that there are a few tributes not here yet and I wonder why they haven't arrived yet. They're the ones who need the training the most and should be taking advantage of every minute today. Oh well, this will just make the games easier for me. I nod my head at my allies. "We put it to a vote and that's what we decided as a group. No point in continuing to worry about it when it's the last day of training."

"Yeah, Glacia's right," Ryoko agrees with me before grabbing Anabel's arm and starting to walk towards the stations. "And you still have to show me how to make a fishing net out of grass!"

Anabel laughs as they start walking away from us and Ardos shakes his head but I can see him smiling. "I don't know how he managed to get her comfortable with training. Her brother and I have tried for years."

"So have you decided?" I hear a strong voice say from behind us and I roll my eyes before turning around to face Cyrus. He has a cocky grin on his face and I briefly wonder if this is how people view me but I know that I have the training to back it up.

"Yes, we have," I say and cross my arms at him as the three others with me turn to face him. From his stance I can tell that he feels confident that he will be let into our alliance. Part of me is looking forward to seeing his reaction to our decision and I'm glad I was the one who made the final vote. "You're not accepted in our alliance."

His face immediately drops in shock and I can hear Lorelei chuckle next to me. The shock quickly changes to anger towards us. "Are you joking? How could you not want me?"

"Easy," I say with a shrug as I notice trainers moving towards us. I keep a casual smile on my face as I'm not bothered at all by his anger. "We don't want you and that's that. End of story."

"You're going to regret this," he points a finger in my face and I don't flinch away. He can make threats all he wants but until he can back it up in a fight, it's just words. Several trainers grab him and start pulling him back, not wanting a fight to break out. As he tries to tug his arms away from the trainers, he keeps his eyes locked on mine. "Just wait until the games start. I'll find you and kill you."

I actually laugh at this, ready for the small challenge he'll give me. But he won't win. No one will win against me. "Good luck with that," I say with a smirk before walking away towards the training stations. I can hear some of the trainers telling Cyrus to calm down or he'll get kicked out of training as I make my way past the other tributes. Most of them quickly turn away when they realize I'm aware of them watching me. As I approach the spears, I can hear footsteps trying to catch up to me.

As Josephine hands me a spear, I turn to see who was following me and see Ardos and Lorelei. "That was great," Lorelei says as I throw the spear, enjoying the renewed confidence I have in the games now that I have some control again.

"But aren't you worried about the threat?" Ardos asks hesitantly as I take another spear to throw. I throw this one as I think about how to phrase my response to him.

When the spear lands in the chest on the dummy, I turn back towards them and shrug. "Not really. He doesn't have training so I'm not concerned about his threat." Ardos looks a little skeptical about this and I almost roll my eyes before realizing this won't help my alliance. "Don't worry about him. If anything, he's going to come after me. I can handle him."

"Maybe it's a good thing we didn't add him," Lorelei says and I raise an eyebrow at this statement from her. She had seemed so confident about adding him so this is surprising. She knows this and shrugs at me. "Hey, I can change my mind. It seems like it wouldn't take much to make him go off the deep end and I don't want that kind of person around in the games."

I stare at her curiously for a few seconds, unsure if there are any hidden motives. But she seems genuinely so I nod my head at her. "Very well. Let's not waste the last day of training."

"Shouldn't we discuss some strategy today?" Ardos asks before I can grab another spear to throw. I share a look with Lorelei and can tell that she wasn't expecting him to bring this up. "Well today is the last day we're going to be together before the games start. Shouldn't we figure out what we're going to do?"

"Ardos is right," Lorelei responds and I'm a little surprised at how easily they are agreeing today despite arguing about Cyrus not even ten minutes ago. "And we should figure out what alliances are threats," she pauses and chuckles a little. "Well, that's if any of them are threats."

I look around at the stations near us, noticing the girl from Nine is next to us. Near the wall, the knife throwing station is vacant and there aren't any others nearby. "Very well," I say with a nod towards the station. "Come on, there's no one over there and we can make it seem as if we're challenging each other again like the first day."

I lead the two over to the station and pick up some knives. I start throwing them and wait for them to do the same before continuing. "So strategy. First thing is to get to the cornucopia and get weapons."

"Obviously," Lorelei replies sarcastically as she lands a knife in a dummies neck.

"It's not obvious," Ardos adds as he lands a throw, not as perfectly as Lorelei. He drops his voice as he continues. "There have been years when the tributes started far away from the cornucopia or the weapons were scattered around the arena."

I nod in agreement with Ardos as I throw a knife into the head of a dummy. "That's a good point. Well assuming we are near the cornucopia and it's filled with weapons, we get there first and defend it from anyone bold enough to try to get supplies." I pause and look at the other two. "If not, we get together and figure out what to do from there."

"And what about the others?" Ardos adds and gestures briefly around us. I discretely look at the other tributes, noticing that almost all of them are with others. I suppose it makes sense that they don't want to face these games alone. But it will make our time harder if we come across three tributes rather than one.

"We won't be able to go search for tributes with less than two people," Lorelei acknowledges, thinking the same thing as me.

"That will make things more difficult," I say slowly as I try to work through what to do in the games. "Well there's six of us. Assuming nothing goes wrong the first day we can go in two pairs while the remaining two stay at the cornucopia. Once numbers get lower, we can probably leave one person behind." I don't add that by that point I hope to have at least one of them gone. I'm aware that they are some of the tougher competition but I won't let them know this. "As for the alliances, well take a look around."

I let them look around for a few seconds as I continue practicing. All of the alliances seemed to have been formed by the end of training yesterday and I had taken time to observe them. Not that I think they'll really pose a threat but I wouldn't want to run into a group on my own.

Lorelei is the first one to turn back and I look at her out of the corner of my eye before throwing another knife. "Well there's two alliances with three people in it. One of them seems to be with three younger girls so not really a problem," I don't look around but I know the group she's talking about is Caitlin's alliance and I throw my next knife a little harder than necessary.

"But the other group is all sixteen-year-olds," Ardos counters and I let them talk, wanting to see what they have observed. "While they look weak, they could be a challenge if one of us was on our own when we found them."

"There is definitely strength in numbers," I add before going silent again, not feeling like being the person to guide the conversation.

"Yeah and we have the biggest alliance," Lorelei says confidently and I smile a little at that statement. But then I remember that having a large alliance will also make us a target and I stop smiling as I focus on the targets. Lorelei doesn't seem to notice this at all and continues on as she trains next to me. "And the others are all in pairs."

"Except for two people," Ardos interrupts and we both look over at him curiously. I hadn't really been counting how many people are in alliances but a quick glance around at the tributes shows that almost everyone is with someone else. "The little boy from Nine is on his own. But that's his own choice. I saw that pair of young boys approach him yesterday but he rejected their alliance."

Lorelei shakes her head at this and I turn back towards the dummies. "It doesn't matter, they'll all be dead in a few days with or without an alliance."

Her words are harsh but they're true. Most young tributes barely make it past the first day. Perhaps it's better that they die sooner instead of starting to get a false hope that they might win the games. I turn to Ardos and raise an eyebrow at him. "And the other person?"

He starts laughing at this as he throws another knife before turning to me with a grin on his face. "The other one is the person that just threatened to find you in the arena."

Lorelei starts laughing loudly about this and I roll my eyes at the encounter with Cyrus. "What a joke," Lorelei says between laughing. "Like does he really think he can take on Glacia?"

"I'd like to see him try," Ardos adds and I look over at the two, wondering if they're being sarcastic. But their faces show they're being genuine about wanting to see this fight and I briefly consider that they're hoping maybe I'll lose. Ardos continues talking before I can let myself feel angry at them wanting to see my end that soon. "There's no way he can beat Glacia. She's had the most training out of everyone here."

I realize that the looks they're giving me are of respect right now for my training and skill and I start to feel uneasy about this whole situation. I don't want to like the people I'm eventually going to have to kill. But here I am, starting to enjoy having conversation with people who are like me and wanted to train for the games. I shake my head a little and turn back towards the targets, not wanting them to see the mixture of emotions on my face. "He'll try and he will lose. But enough about him and back to the other alliances. There's one pair that I think might pose a challenge."

I let them look around as I continue practicing, trying to forget the terrible feeling in my stomach about starting to enjoy having these people around. Once again I find myself wishing there could have been volunteers this year because it would have made things so much easier. Ardos is the first one to respond, "The pair from Eleven?"

I shake my head at this and spare a quick glance over at him. "Not who I was going for but yes, they could be challenging since they have a shared district loyalty."

"Then you're talking about the boy from Five and the girl from Nine," Lorelei speaks up right away and I raise an eyebrow at how she seems to be very observant and good at dealing with the strategy parts of the games.

Ardos looks around once more before I see realization set in on his face. "Ah, yes, they could be a threat. Both seventeen?"

"I believe so," I respond, wanting to seem like I don't know everything about the other tributes. But I studied they're ages and size, needing to figure out who would be a threat to me becoming the victor. "But does it matter in the end? The main concern is getting rid of them without any casualties to our alliance," I pause after I say this, starting to think that maybe it wouldn't be too terrible if they managed to get rid of one of them.

They don't seem to notice my pause before Lorelei nods her head at me. "You're right. But for now, we should probably split up before we draw too much attention."

"I agree with Lorelei," Ardos says as I set down the knives I'm holding. I turn towards them and can see that they both are feeling confident about these games. "We have a solid plan for the start and we all know who the biggest threats are."

There's a silence between us for a few seconds as we look at each other, all aware that the biggest threats are right in front of us. I finally nod my head at them, starting to smirk as I anticipate the games. This is going to be a challenge but I feel confident that I will end up winning. "Very well. Everyone tell their district partner what we talked about today. Let's finish training and then let the best tribute win."

They both start smiling at this, no doubt thinking the same thing as me. Ardos chuckles a little before starting to walk away from us, most likely going back to the tridents. "Yes, let the best one win."

Lorelei starts following after him, pausing to look over at me with a smirk on her face. "I do hope you realize I have every intention of that tribute being me."

I chuckle a little at this and hold out my hand to her. "And I have every intention of it being me. And I'm looking forward to fighting with you." I'm honest about these words as she is the one who has the most training after me. Most of the tributes here won't be much of a threat to me and I find myself almost wishing for more of a challenge.

Lorelei takes my hand and grips it tightly, no doubt trying to make sure I understand that she is a threat. And I am very aware about this and also hold her hand tightly. "So am I." And with that, she lets go of my hand and continues walking away towards the bow and arrow station. Yes, she will definitely be a challenge in the arena.

I also leave the knives station, wanting to have one last day practicing with spears before the games start. As I make my way over, I notice Lance at the climbing station, training with increased vigor. Surely his meeting with Caitlin last night is the reason for his increased willingness to train. And watching him climb the trees, I can tell he's learning fast. Maybe he really will end up being a threat in a fight. I shouldn't have forgotten that I have three big threats, not just Ardos and Lorelei.

"Feeling ready for the games?" Josephine asks me, breaking me out of my thoughts as I reach the spears station. She passes me a spear and I lean against it as I look at her.

"Yeah, I guess," I respond, not knowing how to respond to her question. Sure, I feel ready to deal with the other tributes but seeing Lance training has made me start questioning how to deal with my alliance. "Any last minute advice?" I ask before moving towards the dummies and throwing the spear, landing perfectly.

I turn towards her as she hands me another spear, small smile on her face. "There's nothing I can say about training that you don't already know. But I can say this: make sure you impress Lisia tomorrow."

"How?" I ask immediately before throwing the spear towards the dummies. I hadn't really thought about the individual sessions tomorrow with all the issues with creating an alliance. But now, I don't know what I can do that will really impress Lisia. She's been watching the past few days so what can I show her that she hasn't seen already?

I turn back to Josephine and can see she is deep in thought. "I'm not entirely sure. I know she wants to make sure this Quarter Quell is remembered for years, if not decades. So make her know that you will provide an exciting show."

I start thinking about how I can give a good show as I throw another spear. Surely just using spears won't impress Lisia. Somehow, I'll have to show off all the training I've had over the past few years. But how do I do that in only 15 minutes?

I turn back to Josephine, smiling as I know what I need to do. "Thank you for everything you've done to help me out in the games."

"It has been my pleasure," she responds with a smile. She chuckles and passes me another spear. "But training isn't done yet so back to practicing."

* * *

I sit through dinner quietly, not feeling like joining in Flannery's excited talk about the games. All I can think about is the individual sessions tomorrow and how I need to talk to Darach about it. "Oh and my friend Lara can't stop talking about how she wants to sponsor both of you."

"Yes, how wonderful," Darach says half-heartedly to keep Flannery talking as he stares at me intently, almost as if he knows that I need to figure something out with him. "Yes, both of them will have plenty of sponsors, just like every other year for District Two."

I can see the faintest hint of a smile on Roxanne's face at Darach's sarcastic comment. Flannery, on the other hand, doesn't seem happy with his comment and points a fork at him. "Don't you dare sass me, Darach Westmann. Not when I'm one of the people that can help Glacia get a gift in the games," she pauses to smile at me as if she didn't mean her comment to be an insult towards me. "But anyways, you two should be happy that the sponsors are acting like any other year for District Two." She leans forward a little, a look of excitement on her face as she glances around as if she shouldn't say what she's about to. As she continues, she speaks in a fake whisper as if to create some drama. "I shouldn't be saying this, but the tributes from One and Four haven't been as lucky with sponsors."

"Really?" Lance speaks up right away with a surprised tone. Her comment even surprised me a little but I suppose I should have expected it. Who wants to sponsor tributes that are twelve and thirteen?

Flannery nods her head excitedly, knowing she has finally gotten our attention. "Oh yes. Well, the girl from One is doing fine, but I suspect that's just because she's pretty," she whispers the last part mostly to herself and I find myself letting out a small chuckle at my escort's comment. "You two will have no problem with sponsors. Just don't do anything stupid in the games to cause them to stop giving us their money."

I take a glance sideways at Lance, wondering if Flannery is aware of his plans to leave. But the look on his face shows fear at the thought of losing support. I almost start thinking he is having second doubts about leaving before his face turns towards determination. "Well I don't think that will happen as long as we are keeping things interesting," he says confidently before standing up from the table. "Well I'm going to go get some rest so I can be ready for the individual sessions tomorrow."

"Lance, let me talk to you real quick before you go rest," Roxanne says immediately and gets up, following him out of the dining area.

I roll my eyes at them, knowing they're probably talking about him leaving the alliance will affect the sponsors. I turn my attention back to Darach who has an amused look on his face at my reaction. "Do you know what they talk about?"

"To some extent, yes," he says with a casual shrug as I stare at him incredulously. He holds up his hands defensively as he laughs a little. "Hey, don't give me that look. We're both mentors and want to be able to help out our tribute. Sometimes that means asking the other for their opinion."

"And you won't tell me anything?" I ask, already knowing what his answer will end up being. I lean back in my chair, almost feeling betrayed by my mentor. Flannery, meanwhile, is watching this exchange with interest and I realize it's probably because she doesn't hear much about our plans.

"Of course not," Darach answers me and takes a sip of his drink. "Look, Glacia, I'm not going to tell you what I know from Roxanne. Tributes expect their mentors not to share plans with others. How would you like it if Roxanne told Lance how you don't like him and think he's a major threat?"

I turn away from him, almost feeling like a child that's not getting their way. But the thing is, I understand completely why Darach won't say anything. But I also realize that he probably knows Lance wants to leave the alliance and I can start discussing my speculations with him. "So you obviously won't tell me if I'm right or not, but I suspect that he plans to leave the alliance to join the girl from Seven. I just don't know how or when he will try to do this."

Darach sits there quietly for a few seconds, struggling to keep his face completely void of emotions. But I can see a small spark in his eyes that I know from years of training with him that I am right about this. "Well," he starts to say carefully and folds his arms across his chest and leans back in his chair. "If you think that is what he plans on doing, how will you try to avoid letting him leave?"

"I don't know," I say and throw my hands up exasperated. "I've been thinking about this for a couple days now and don't know how to deal with it." I look at him with pleading eyes, suddenly not feeling confident about this alliance anymore. "Help me."

His face shows concern towards me but also a little bit offended. "If this has been bothering you, why haven't you said something to me sooner? Hell, Glacia, we're two days away from the games starting. You need to talk to me about stuff before it is too late and we don't have any ways of directly communicating." He sighs and rubs his eyes, looking exhausted by the process of mentoring. "Anything else that you haven't mentioned to me?"

I shake my head at him, feeling bad that I didn't think I could trust him with this information about Lance. I should have known better that he is here to make sure I get out of the arena alive. "No, the only other issue was Cyrus but that's taken care of. And I didn't say anything because of how you reacted after the chariot ride towards him talking to the girl."

Darach sighs at me but I can see him starting to smile a little. "Sorry about that, I was still annoyed about having your district partner be someone who hadn't trained with him. And I was also angry that he is also related to a victor because I want you to win but know that you winning means one of my good friends will be devastated. So I took out my anger on him."

"But you're not angry anymore?" I ask him hesitantly, not knowing if asking that will cause him to flip out again. He always hasn't been one to control his anger well and while it did help him win his games, it can be annoying at times for me.

Darach laughs at this as he stands up, waving for me to follow him. "Of course I'm still mad but I realize it's pointless to take it out on Lance. He didn't make his name get chosen," he pauses and gives a pointed look at Flannery who puts her hands up defensively. He laughs at this as he starts walking towards the living room. "Just messing with you, Flannery. Now come on, Glacia, let's go sit somewhere more comfortable as I have a feeling we're going to be talking for a while."

I get up and follow him towards the couches, settling in one of the arm chairs and pulling my knees up to my chest. He sprawls out on his own couch and smirks at me. "So what to do about Lance?"

"Yes," I nod my head before resting my chin on my knees. "I don't know how to stop him from leaving or literally stabbing me in the back when he does try to leave."

Darach stares at me for a few seconds, rubbing his chin as he thinks. "I wish Lysander was here right now," he says quietly and we both laugh about this. Yes, having Lysander here would be very useful since he is an expert at strategy. "Well, I might not have won my games by outsmarting everyone but I can still give you some advice. I say don't try to keep him there. Sure, you won't be able to keep him there forever. If he wants to leave, he'll leave." Darach pauses to shrug at me. "But he might put up a fight if you're being very controlling about him sticking around which can hurt you. Literally."

I stare at him, not liking that he's right and I can't be overly controlling in this situation. "But I can't just let him leave right away. The others would be so angry about it."

"True," he says and nods his head at me. "But you can make sure he doesn't leave on the first day or two. Don't let him be alone. If you go out searching, keep him with you or leave him behind with someone who wouldn't just let him leave. Probably Lorelei or Ardos."

"And do you really think they can stop him from leaving?" I ask him skeptically. I don't think Ardos could stop Lance from leaving. Yes, the boy from Four may have more training but Lance is bigger and might be able to get away based on surprise. And Lorelei, well, who knows with her. Perhaps she would let Lance leave. I haven't seen any reason for her to want to keep him around.

Darach gives a casual shrug at this. "No one will be able to stop him from leaving if he wants to. Not even you."

His comment makes me feel uneasy and reminds me of just how little control over the games and my alliance. "Then what do I do when he leaves? The others won't be happy about it."

Darach thows his hands up and shakes his head. "Then who cares! Lance is his own person and none of you can ultimately control what he does in the games. The sooner you," he points at me to emphasize his point and I frown a little at his tone, "realize that, the better off you will be. Forget about the other's reactions. You worry about staying alive and winning the games. Get angry or pretend you didn't know if that's what it takes to make them stick around and help you out." He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair before looking at me, brief anger subsided. "All that matters in the games is you. The moment you start caring more about the others is the moment you lose. And I won't have you losing the games."

I barely nod my head, the weight of his words setting in. He has devoted so much time to me succeeding in the games and I know that I can't let him down. That's just another person on the list I need to not let down by losing the games. After a few minutes of silence pass with me deep in thought about winning the games, I look back at him. "So how do I impress the Gamemakers tomorrow?"

I can see his mood instantly pick up at having a question he can answer better than strategizing about Lance. "Easy. You show them how trained you are and that you have what it takes to win the games."

"Yeah but how? They've been watching me for train for three days. What can I possibly do that they haven't already seen?" I'm starting to feel annoyed with him since I haven't gotten an answer yet about what to do in my individual session tomorrow.

Darach laughs a little at me and I narrow my eyes, not sure if his laughter is direct at me. "You show them how you can really fight," he says and I must show my confusion on my face as he continues talking. "Not many victors know this and as a result not very many tributes take advantage of it, but you can ask for a trainer to spar with during your individual session."

I turn to stare out the windows, feeling the formation of a plan in my head. Being able to fight with a person who won't really hold back is a sure way to show them the real skills I've learned from training for years. Most people can learn how to hit a certain part of a target. But doing that when actually fighting someone? That requires skill. And luckily, I have a lot of it. "Yes, that will surely impress her," I start mumbling to myself, knowing Lisia needs to know I can give her the memorable Quarter Quell she wants. I turn to Darach who is watching me with an amused smile on his face. "Fighting against someone will allow me to show off a variety of weapon skills and also how I will do against tributes in the arena. Thank you, Darach, for telling me about that."

I hear someone walking towards us and turn around to see Roxanne walking towards us. She sighs a little as she joins us, smiling at me a little. "How are you, Glacia?"

"Good," I respond a little hesitantly, not sure what her motives are. But she continues smiling at me and I can see that she just genuinely wants to know how I am. It's so unusual that I question how this woman could have killed people in the games. "We were just discussing what to do for the individual session tomorrow."

"Ah, such an important thing," she says, a smile on her face as she leans back against the couch. "Yet it really means nothing in the end. How can you rate tributes on a fifteen minute session when they aren't put to any stress? You have no way to know how they will really act in the games."

"Tell us how you really feel," Darach says sarcastically and chuckles at her. I watch the two of them in amusement as they're not a pair of victors I've often seen together.

"I will tell you how I feel about the scores," Roxanne turns towards him and he raises an eyebrow at her. "I think they're a poor judge of the person and they're only purpose is to give sponsors a starting point. Then the bloodbath happens and they realize the surprise tribute from District Eight that could learn how to use a sword and got a high score couldn't actually handle the games and died." She turns back towards me and smiles apologetically as she shrugs. "Don't stress yourself out about the scores. You already have sponsors so it won't really change what happens."

Darach scoffs and I glance over at him to see him roll his eyes. "Of course they matter. How many victors have gotten below a seven in recent years?"

"Not very many because it's been mostly trained tributes who have won," Roxanne counters and I watch the two of them bicker, slightly amused but mostly starting to feel stressed about the score I earn tomorrow.

I get up and walk over to the window as they continue discussing the value of training scores. Looking out, the last few rays of sunlight are hitting the Capitol yet people are already celebrating in the streets below. How many of them are sponsors? And will I lose them if I don't get a high enough score? The pressure to do well in front of them Gamemakers has my stomach in knots and the conversation behind me isn't helping at all. I suddenly turn around and interrupt Roxanne. "Can we talk about anything that doesn't involve the games?"

The fall silent immediately and I feel uncomfortable under their gazes. Darach is looking at me with almost shock. Has he not realized that these games are stressing me and I've been questioning how I'll win? And Roxanne, well, she's looking at me with understanding and almost pity. If I wasn't anxious about tomorrow I would normally be angry about her pity. But right now, I'm happy to see her be the first one to speak up. "Sure," she smiles at me before pointing over at Darach. "Want to hear about the time he got his ass by a girl in training?"

Darach groans and I find my attention immediately peaked as I start walking over to them. "Don't tell her about Annel. That just wasn't a fair fight."

"No, tell me," I say as I sit down next to Roxanne, desperate to hear this story about my mentor. No one had ever told me about a time he lost a fight, especially to someone in training.

"If you're going to hear it, I'm going to tell you what happened," Darach says before Roxanne can speak up. He cringes a little before shaking his head at me. "Well, I was a young and stupid boy in training who was cocky about my ability to win a fight against anyone."

"So nothing has changed besides you getting old," Roxanne mumbles under her breath and I burst out laughing at this. She's completely right about him being the same way now and it's almost nice to know he hasn't changed over the years.

Darach gives her side eye before turning back to me. "So it was right after I was selected to be the volunteer for that year. As you can imagine, I thought I was great and going to win the games easily. One day, this sixteen year old girl approached me in training and challenged me to a fight." He pauses and I can see him remembering the fight as I think about who would be dumb enough to challenge Darach to a fight at the peak of his training. "Well, Annel wasn't just any normal girl training in Two. She was huge. I'm talking at least six foot tall so almost my height. And she already had a crazy amount of strength for not being done with her training."

"So what happened?" I ask him when he pauses for a few seconds, wanting to know just how the most brutal victor from District Two lost a fight.

Darach shrugs at me and smirks a bit. "Well, I went in thinking I should win no problem. Boy was I wrong. Everyone came out to watch this fight and they got to see me knocked on my ass by someone younger than me. Never heard the end of that until the games happened."

He doesn't need to continue on. Everyone knows how he destroyed the competition in his games. No one could doubt his skills after setting a record for number of kills in the bloodbath since the Second Rebellion, a record that still stands. Part of me is a little curious about the other person in this story since I haven't heard about them before in District Two. "And what about Annel? What is she up to?"

Darach looks uncomfortable about this question and Roxanne is the one to answer me. She speaks carefully and I can see a hint of sadness on her face. "Well, she was the volunteer the year after Lysander's games. People thought there was a good chance for District Two to have three victories in a row. She was on her way towards victory but the boy from Four caught her by surprise."

"She deserved better than a knife to her throat in the middle of the night," Darach interrupts her and I look at him to see a rare emotion on his face. Sadness. He stands up, sighing deeply before clearing his face of emotions. "Well I'm going to go rest. I suggest you do the same thing, Glacia. Best to be prepared for tomorrow."

I nod at him as he starts to walk towards the bedrooms. "Goodnight, Darach. Thanks for your help." I don't get a response from him and I wait until I hear his door slam shut before I turn back to Roxanne. "Why doesn't he ever let people see that side of him?"

Roxanne shrugs her shoulders and smiles a little at me. "I think he's spent so many years making sure everyone thought he was the toughest that he views showing emotions as a weakness. If you pretend to be someone for so many years, sooner or later it's who you become and you find yourself always putting up a front around people."

Her words hit close to home with me and the look on her face shows that she knew it would. The act I put up around everyone won't really become me someday, will it?

No, I refuse to let that happen. Once these games are done, everyone will know what I'm capable of and I won't have to pretend anymore. I stand up and smile a little at Roxanne, knowing she did help to cheer up my mode a bit. And while she might not believe the scores matter, I'm still going to try as hard as I can. "I should probably listen to Darach and get some rest. Thanks for telling me that story about him."

"Anytime. I could tell you were starting to get stressed so if that happens again, I'll gladly tell more embarrassing stories about Darach," Roxanne says and we both start laughing a little. She gets serious and stops me as I start walking away. "And Glacia? Try not to get caught up in doing the best at everything in the games. Worry more about making it home to your grandmother."

Her words surprise me, especially since she isn't my mentor. But it's a good reminder of why I had wanted to train in the first place. I nod at her and smile before making my way towards the hallway. "Goodnight, Roxanne."

As I enter my room, I know I'll actually get a good's night sleep for the first time since arriving in the Capitol. I know what I need to do tomorrow for the Gamemakers. And Roxanne's reminder was what I needed to focus on winning these games.

* * *

 **If you want more information about the stories, please go to my website at** **thefifthquarterquell . weebly .com** **! It is now updated through Chapter 6!**

 **Also, just another reminder to go check out stories that I have submitted tributes for! I'm very excited about it since this is the first time I've gotten involved with SYOT!**

 **I have three in Make Me a Match: The 125th Hunger Games by Goldie031.**

 **I also submitted one tribute each for these two stories:**

 **By CelticGames4: Danzón: The 125th Hunger Games**

 **By One True Victor: Bloodline: The 80th Hunger Games**

 **All three stories are still open so this is a great chance to get tributes submitted!**


	7. Private Sessions and Scores

**Welcome to the 125th Hunger Games!**

 **Just a few things before the story begins. A reminder that this is one story out of two that are taking place during the same time. So if you are reading this story first and plan on reading the other, you may want to read the same chapter from the other in order to avoid spoilers to the character.**

 **I will update the stories on the same day, that way once the games start you can choose which story to read first as there will be some spoilers about what might happen to the other character.**

 **I'll let you begin the story. As always, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. Any comments are good comments.**

 **Let the Games begin!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7:**

Nervousness surrounds me as I wait for my turn to go in front of the Gamemakers. Ryoko has been in there for a while now, the first of the 22 of us. A glance to my left shows Lance is freaking out, barely keeping it hidden from the rest of us. Of course he's worried, he doesn't have as many skills to show them today. But me, well, I feel absolutely confident about what I'm going to show them today.

"Lorelei Caromere," a voice speaks out and I swear Lance jumps at the sound. The girl stands up and makes eye contact with me briefly. I give her a nod of acknowledgement before she walks confidently into the training room.

Lance has started tapping his foot as his worry grows now that he is next to present his skills to the Gamemakers. I sigh at his actions, starting to get annoyed with him. This wasn't helping me to relax. I pull my feet up and cross my legs before closing my eyes, determined to stay calm. There is no point in starting to stress about this situation. There are small whispers throughout the room from district partners trying to encourage the other. But it won't matter. Nothing will stop some of these people from being nervous.

I start going through my plan in my head, anticipating the score that I will get. Surely I'll get the highest from my alliance. Perhaps I'll even become one of the rare people who has earned a twelve in training. I start smiling at the thought. Yes, that would surely show everyone that ever mocked me and the sponsors would know that I am the one who's going to win. But who else would they really pick in this group?

"Lance Henderson," the voice says and I open my eyes in surprise, not having realized that fifteen minutes have passed already. Turning towards Lance I can see the fear in his eyes before he takes a deep breath and stands up. He shakes his head a little, seemingly trying to clear his head of worrying thoughts before walking towards the Gamemakers, face determined to impress them.

Hmm, maybe he might manage to achieve a decent score. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have him do well, especially since he's going to be in my alliance for the first couple of days. It won't matter in the end. Like Roxanne said, they're just a starting point for the sponsors. But I intend on winning the most sponsors.

As the time ticks on, going slow and fast at the same time, I take deep breaths to prepare myself. In only a few minutes, I will need to train like I have never done before. I must impress Lisia. And I think what I'm about to do will impress her. If Darach hadn't told me about it, I probably wouldn't be about to give a great performance.

"Glacia Skylar," the voice speaks and a silence falls in the room. I unfold my legs and stand up, stretching momentarily. Then I make my way into the training room.

The doors slide shut behind me as I enter the training center that has the same set up from the past three days. But without any tributes in here, it feels empty and harsh. I turn my gaze towards the platform overlooking where Lisia is standing at the front, watching me with hawk-like eyes. I hold my head high as I walk towards the Gamemakers, knowing their attention is on me. Once I reach the center of the room, I pause a smirk a little as I look at the Head Gamemaker. "Glacia Skylar, District Two."

I can see a faint hint of a smile on the corner of Lisia's lips and I know she is excited about me being in front of her. And I can't blame her when I'm the most trained out of all the tributes. "Very well, Glacia. You have fifteen minutes to present your skills to us. Time starts now."

"I wish to have a trainer to spare with," I announce loud and clear, enjoying the looks of surprise on some of the Gamemakers' faces. But I keep my focus on Lisia as she appears to be unfazed by my request.

With a small motion of her hand, one of the Gamemakers leaves the platform. Lisia returns her attention to me. "What is your choice of weapon? We need to provide you with blunt blades in order to protect our trainer."

My smile grows as my request is being fulfilled. If it hadn't, I don't think I would have been able to impress them as much. "Spears and knives. Preferably two spears." Lisia raises an eyebrow at this but simply nods her head.

Less than a minute has passed since I made my request before two trainers walk out. I almost let the shock on my face show as Josephine moves towards me with the weapons I requested. She briefly raises an eyebrow at me as if acknowledging that this is a crazy idea. And it really is. What tribute would actually request to fight against one of the Capitol's trainers? Only someone determined to win.

Across the room, the other trainer moves into a fighting position as I tuck the two knives Josephine gave me into my belt. I take the spears from her, twirling the one in my right hand as she walks towards the side of the room. I stare ahead at the blond man in front of me, recognizing him from the swords station. He's tall and has a strong build, nothing of surprise for someone who's job is to train people. He will surely put up a good fight. I brace myself for the fight, right arm prepared to launch the first spear.

And that's when he makes the first move. He runs towards me as I throw my spear and he somehow manages to barely avoid it. I expected something like that to happen and quickly move the second spear into both hands, lifting it up to block a swing from his sword as he reaches me.

The next few minutes are a flurry of movements, both of us striking out and blocking in fast and precise movements. I can feel my heart quicken and start enjoying myself, missing the feeling of fighting with someone who is my equal. And this trainer is not disappointing my plan to impress Lisia. I can tell he is not holding back at all and I also give the fight my all, determined to win and get a high score.

Suddenly, my spear snaps in half, the sound ringing in the room as we both temporarily pause. I keep my eyes on him as I throw the two pieces away and pull out the two knives from my belt. I brace myself for the next round of fighting, knowing it would be even tougher now that I was using two short range weapons compared to his long reaching sword.

I make the first move this time, swinging the knives quickly as I try to reach him. He blocks the majority of my hits and almost makes a deadly swing with his sword. His blade wouldn't pierce my skin but it would surely hurt and would also make a bad impression on the Gamemakers. As time goes on, I start to notice a pattern in his moves and I can see my opportunity to win. I make a feint towards his right side and as he moves his body to block the hit, exposing his left side, I drop to the ground and roll towards him, allowing my knife to line up perfectly under his rib cage. He freezes at the feeling of the knife against him, both of us understanding that it would have been a killing blow.

I stay in that position for a few seconds, breathing heavy from the fight. Adrenaline is still coursing through me and I know I could have kept fighting him for a while. He looks impressed with me as I stand up, suddenly hearing some applause behind me. I turn towards the Gamemakers, noticing at least half giving me some recognition for the show I just gave them. But my attention is on Lisia, trying so hard to figure out what her opinion is. She's the one who makes the final decision on the scores.

She keeps her face blank as I look up at her, waiting for some form of acknowledgement that I can fight well. Finally, she gives a nod of her head at me. "Thank you, Glacia. You are dismissed," she moves to turn away from me but not before I catch the faint glimmer in her eyes. Yes, she enjoyed that.

I turn back to the trainer I fought with and hand him my knives. Making my way towards the opposite side of the room, a smirk slowly starts forming on my face. There's no way I won't be getting the highest score. I step into a new hallway and peacekeepers gesture in the direction for me to go in to return to the elevators. Once I reach them, the adrenaline has started to wear off and the exhaustion of a good fight is starting to settle in. I let the elevator take me up to the second floor, ready to relax after winning over the Gamemakers.

But when the doors open, I realize relaxing won't be happening yet. Roxanne is walking over to me, happy look on her face as she drags Lance with her. "Ah I'm glad you're back. We were waiting for you to finish so that we can go upstairs."

I give her a look as if she has grown two extra heads. "Why would we possibly want to go upstairs?" I ask as I try to start walking around her.

She quickly reaches out and grabs my arm, starting to pull me with her towards the elevator I just left. "We're going to the rooftop. Just wait until you see it in the daytime."

I let out a sigh as we start moving up, wanting nothing more right now than to go take a nap or possibly talk to Darach. Just something to pass the time before we receive our training scores. But being dragged along somewhere with Lance and Roxanne is not what I imagined. I take a quick glance over at him, noticing that he looks fairly pleased with himself. I start wondering what he did for the Gamemakers as the doors open on the roof.

Any previous thoughts disappear as I'm overwhelmed by the many colors and scents suddenly filling my senses. I look around in wonder at the garden surrounding me, surprised that this is here of all places. Stepping towards a trellis, I lightly touch the petals on a pink rose, it's color reminding me of the roses we grow at home. Grandma always liked the pink ones the best while I preferred the white ones. Did she know about this garden up here? Suddenly I can picture her walking around up here, a momentary reprieve from the hardships of mentoring.

"I figured you would like it," Roxanne says and snaps me out of my daydream. I close off the emotions on my face as I turn around, realizing I slipped from my normal façade and showed momentary weakness. After last night, I wouldn't have been bothered by showing that in front of Roxanne. But not in front of Lance. He's regarding me with a strange look on his face and I wish I could make him forget about that small moment.

"I don't like it," I respond harshly to her, angry with myself for letting Lance see me weak. That was so stupid since he is the most dangerous person to me in the arena. Any weakness could be exploited by him. Roxanne's face shows hurt and disappointment as I walk the few feet back to the elevator. "I'm going back down now."

The elevator is thankfully still at the roof and I'm able to step on in a few seconds. I immediately press the button for two repeatedly, anxious to get away from them. As the doors shut, I can see the disappointed look on Roxanne's face. The elevator moves down and I let out a sigh, the last traces of my good mood from the individual session long gone. How did I let myself get so upset at the memories of Grandma? It's obvious. I miss her so much and she is the reason I trained and wanted to be her. Yet I keep finding myself wishing I wasn't here.

The doors open and I quickly walk out onto the floor, determined to get to my room so I can be alone. "Ah Glacia, there you are. So Roxanne did manage to get you caught up in her rooftop trip!" I can hear Darach walking towards me and I try to avoid looking at him and instead focus on the hallway that seems too far away. "So how did your individual sess- Glacia, what's wrong?" he suddenly pulls on my arm and turns me around so I have to face him.

"Nothing is wrong," I say and tear my arm away from him. I refuse to let him see me get upset right now over something so small and meaningless with the games starting in days. "It went fine and right now, I just want to go rest."

His face shows that he doesn't believe me but he doesn't say anything else. I quickly turn around and make my way to my room, afraid to let him know how weak I'm feeling right now. Once my door is shut, I lean against it and slide down. Putting my face in my hands, I refuse to start crying right now. This was what I've wanted for years. I need to get it together. Yes, thinking about Grandma hurts so much. But I have to fight for her. I can't leave her alone.

A tear slips out and I quickly wipe it away. I will not let this happen to me. Not when the games are so close to happening. I can't allow myself to become an emotional wreck because it will only cause me to get killed and I want to have a long life back in Two.

I slowly stand up and make my way to my bed, wanting to curl up and just forget about everything right now. But as I pull the covers above my head, there's no way I can forget about the games for a few minutes. At least I will be getting a good score today. There's no way I won't after that fight I had earlier in front of the Gamemakers. I should be relaxing now because tomorrow will be non-stop preparation for the interviews. But I stare at the wall, not being able to push away the knot of worries in my stomach.

* * *

"Are you ready to see the scores?" Flannery asks way too cheerfully as we all sit down on the couches. Yes, I am ready to finally see the scores after an afternoon of moping around in my room. Instead of being anxious about returning home to Grandma, I'm now worried about the scores. I have no reason to be worried but I just can't help it.

"Yes," I answer her quietly as Darach sits next to me. He has given me several weird looks since I came out to see the scores and I'm sure he will bring up what happened earlier.

But for now, he is silent as Lance gives a small acknowledgement to Flannery as she turns the TV on. "Might as well get this over with already." I find myself agreeing with Lance, wanting to see what score I earned so it can hopefully renew my desire to be in the games.

We're greeted by the familiar faces of Claudia Flickerman and Elliot Templesmith, grinning as they begin their program. Claudia speaks up first, easily portraying an energetic host. "Welcome, citizens of Panem! Now tonight is a very special night because we have just received the scores our 22 tributes have earned from the one and only, Lisia Arune."

She dramatically waves a piece of paper that I'm sure doesn't have the scores actually on it as Elliot pretends to be awestruck. "That woman has such a brilliant mind. I still can't stop thinking about the chariot rides. Clearly there is no better person to create our Fifth Quarter Quell."

Claudia smiles at her co-host before returning her gaze to the camera. "Now I could gladly talk about our speculations for the games – something we did yesterday – but I know everyone is impatiently waiting to hear the scores." She pauses to create tension and I can feel my stomach turning in knots as I lean forward, not wanting to miss anything they say about the scores. "Shall we begin?"

"First we have District One," Claudia starts and pauses for a second as a picture of Ryoko appears on the screen. "Ryoko Siras has earned a score of 7."

I raise my eyebrows at this, surprised that he earned such a high score considering how young he is. I don't have time to make a comment to Darach about it as Elliot has continued. "And Lorelei Caromere has earned a score of," he pauses to create drama and I almost roll my eyes at him. He does this every year when reading the scores, "10."

Wow. I didn't expect her to get a 10. Maybe a 9 but not that high of a score. If Lorelei managed to get a 10, what will I get? I've had more training than her and honestly I'm better than her. I find myself starting to smirk in excitement about my inevitably high score as Claudia continues the announcement. "And now for District Two. Lance Henderson has earned a score of," her face shows a very brief flash of surprise that could have been missed if you weren't watching her. "9," she continues and I'm left in shock as the people around me get excited.

"Oh that's amazing!" Flannery cheers in excitement and I see Roxanne pat Lance on the back out of the corner of my eye. But my attention is fully on the TV that now shows a picture of me. Darach silences everyone as my stomach starts to twist again in nervousness.

Elliot looks completely relaxed as he starts to read my score and I wish he would just get on with it and know that I'm waiting impatiently. "And Glacia Skylar has earned a score of," once again he pauses and I wish I could shake him and yell at him to hurry up. "9."

Nine… the number rings in my head as I sit there in shock. How did I earn the same score as Lance? He hasn't had any training. I should have had the highest score. And there is no way in hell that Lorelei did better than me.

As the announcers go over District Three's scores, I can barely hear the people around me telling me how it was a good score. Anger is starting to build up at my score. Others might be very happy with receiving a 9 in training but not me. I should have gotten at least a 10.

"That can't be right!" I yell out angrily after Claudia announces Ardos earned an 8 in training. Silence falls around me as the others look at me concerned. I jump up, pointing at the screen as I continue yelling, not knowing where this rage is coming from. "There is no way I deserve a score lower than Lorelei. She has had less training and isn't as good as me!" I take a deep breath as I clench my fists and close my eyes for a second before turning towards Lance. He looks shock and nervous about my outburst and I don't blame him. This is the first time he's ever seen me get genuinely angry. It's such a rare occurrence that I'm even surprised with myself. But the number 9 flashes in my mind again and I feel the anger building up even more. "And there is no way in hell that he earned the same score as me."

After that, I turn and storm off to my room, leaving silence behind me aside from the scores being announced for District Six. Once I reach my room, I slam the door behind me and it feels great to let out the anger but it's not enough. A small table sits next to me with a delicate flower vase on it, looking so fragile and easy to break. My anger takes over and I grab the vase and throw it against the wall, feeling a small amount of satisfaction over watching the ceramic shatter. Suddenly I need to keep throwing things, anything to distract me from the fact that the scores don't show me as being the best. I need to have sponsors and the support from the Capitol. But how can I do that when Lisia Arune won't even tell them that I'm the best?

I flip the small table next and watch the glass top shatter on the ground. I know I'm the best one here. Why couldn't I get a score to match it? And how did Lance manage to get the same score as me? I watched him train. He might have learned stuff quickly but not to the point of being on the same level as someone who has trained for years. I let out a scream of rage before moving to the bedside table and ripping the lamp out of the socket.

The door opens and I whip around, not wanting to talk to anyone right now. I throw the lamp near the door and yell at Darach as he calmly closes the door behind him and leans over to avoid the shattering glass. "Go away! I don't want to talk to anyone right now!"

"Glacia," he starts to say as he walks over to me, hands held out in front of him as if he's trying to calm me down.

"No," I interrupt before he can say anything else. "I should have gotten the highest score! No one else here has the training like I do!" I look around at all the shattered glass in my room as my anger starts to turn to despair and a sob unwantedly escapes. "Why doesn't Lisia like me? This was never how I imagined the games to be!"

Darach storms over at this, seemingly not caring about stepping on the glass shards. He puts his hands on my shoulders as the first tear escapes. I look at the ground, hating showing this weakness in front of him but I can't control how distraught I feel right now over my score. "Glacia, look at me," he says, voice trying to sound calming but still stern. I refuse to look at him and he starts shaking me. "Look at me!" He yells and I immediately look up, afraid of the anger in his voice. I know he would never hurt me but I've seen what he can do. Everyone should be afraid of him. Which is how everyone should feel towards me but they won't now after I didn't get the highest score. Another tear falls as he intently stares at me, making sure he has my attention. "Listen to me very carefully," he says quietly and I nod my head at him, not liking being at the end of his anger. "That score means absolutely nothing. Nothing."

"But you just said last night that getting a good score matters?" I ask him confused at the change in his opinion and sniffle, anger starting to fade away into just sadness.

"They matter right up until the gong rings at the start of the games," Darach replies to me full of the confidence that I thought I had about the games but seems to be fading away each day. "Once you're in the games, that score means nothing to the sponsors because they can now see how you really act in a fight."

His words are starting to very slightly push away the feelings of sadness but I still don't feel overwhelmingly happy right now about my score. "But Lorelei still got a higher score than me."

Darach scoffs at this and I start scowling at him being so relaxed right now about this. "Who cares what that girl got! We both know who is trained better and will win the games." He raises his eyebrows at me expectantly and I nod my head after a few seconds. Yes, I am better trained than her. But it doesn't seem like that to everyone else. He somehow seems to know what's going through my mind as he continues. "Everyone else will know that once the games start. Make sure you get more kills than her in the bloodbath. If anything, this score just means you need to fight harder to prove yourself. And fighting hard will keep you alive."

I nod my head as the tears stop falling. Somehow he has managed to make me start feeling better. And I know that I can do better than Lorelei in the beginning of the games. I'll show the Capitol and the sponsors who is the superior tribute and going to win. But I start frowning once more, another thing still keeping me upset. "But how did Lance get the same score as me?"

Darach sighs and shrugs his shoulders at this before leading me to sit down on the edge of my bed, carefully guiding me around the glass. I sit down and pull my legs up to my chest and rest my chin on my knees as I watch him sit down next to me. He looks thoughtful for a few seconds before finally speaking up. "I have no idea how he got that score. We both know he doesn't have the training to back it up. If anything, he should have gotten a lower score than Ardos." I briefly recall that the boy from Four had managed to get an 8 in training and he definitely was more skilled than Lance. Maybe Lisia just gave everyone high scores to give the illusion to the Capitol that everyone from the traditional career districts are trained. Darach looks at me, face looking annoyed as he continues. "Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if Lisia did all this to create drama."

"Have Head Gamemakers really done that before?" I ask innocently, never having really thought about that possibility. Darach gives a chuckle about this and I know what the answer is. "Of course they do. They have to give a good show, right?" I can feel my anger coming back a little but this time it's not about not feeling good enough. It's directed towards Lisia for making it seem to the sponsors that I'm not that great. "Well I'm going to prove them all wrong. It's unfair for her to give me a score that doesn't match my potential but it won't stop me from winning."

Darach starts smiling as he sees me becoming determined to fight again and getting past my brief moment of weakness. "Now that's the Glacia that I've known for years and know can win these games." His faith in me makes me feel good inside and also gives me another reason to fight as hard as I can to win these games. He stares at me for a few seconds before speaking up. "So want to tell me now what made you so upset earlier?"

The reminder of earlier has me feeling upset again but I sigh, knowing I should tell him what happened. I stare over at the wall, not trusting myself to keep it together. "Being in the garden on the roof just reminded me of my grandma. I really miss her and know I need to win and get home for her."

Darach grabs my hand comfortingly and I look over at him, surprised to see how gentle it looks. I've never seen him like this since he usually acts the way everyone thinks: an angry, bloodthirsty person who enjoys fighting. But right now, he looks like a man who has seen and done terrible things and still feels the effects of them. "Glacia, I will not let you die in these games. I promised Sylvia that I would bring you home from these games alive and that is one promise I have every intention of keeping. I also made that promise to myself because I refuse to see another person I deeply care about and trained for years lose in the games."

He stops talking and I can see the sadness in his eyes as he thinks about the past. I gently speak up after a minute, not wanting him to close off his emotions like he does for the rest of the world. And I know exactly who he's talking about. "Did you mentor for Annel when she went to the games?"

His eyes show pain as he looks at me. "Yes," he lets out a sigh and turns to stare at the wall. I wait for him to continue, clearly able to see on his face how much this still hurts him after nine years. "She was the first person I ever mentored for. Clemont tried to go instead because he thought I wasn't ready for it yet. But I had to be the one who was there and helping out my friend." He turns to look at me again and I'm taken back when I see the pain in his eyes. "Every night I question what I could have done differently to save her. I still feel just as guilty today as I did when she died."

"Is that why you put up a front to everyone and don't let them see this side?" I ask him curiously, wanting to keep learning more about the person I've trained with for years. I can see on his face that he's worried about me thinking less of him for this admission but if anything, it has made me respect him even more.

"Part of the reason," he answers and pauses. "Also part of it is that everyone expected me to be the tough guy that they saw win the games. I still was that person but the games did have an effect on me. They always have an effect on the victor. No one can live through taking lives and not have some part of them feel the effect of that every day. Even me," he adds with a chuckle but its devoid of any happiness.

We sit in silence for a minute as I think about his words. My entire life I've seen how the games can take their toll on a victor and I don't want that to happen to me. "I'm scared that if I win, someday I'll end up like Grandma."

Darach suddenly gets a protective look on his face after admitting my fear. "I won't let that happen to you. I promise I will help you get through the games. Every part of it." His words make me feel overwhelmed and I suddenly hug him, needing to feel comfort from him. I've never had someone feel so protective towards me and it makes me feel good and terrible inside. Now I can't lose. Not after listening to him explain the guilt he still feels towards Annel. He hugs me tightly and I suspect that he hasn't had contact with someone like this in a long time. "I promise I will get you out of the games alive. I can't live with the guilt if I lose someone else."

After a few seconds pass, he moves back and I can see the toll the games have taken on him. "Thank you," I suddenly say and he looks at me confused.

"For what?" He asks as I can see him starting to put up the walls again. But I know now that he does it to keep himself from the guilt and pain of the games, not to push people away.

"For opening up to me and telling me how you really feel about the games," I respond to him and give a sad smile. "And don't you ever think that this has made me get a negative view on you. It's made me like you even more."

Darach laughs at this and the sound brings a smile to my face. "That's probably a good thing since you need me to get you through the games," he replies sarcastically and I can tell that he's starting to forget his sadness.

I lightly punch him on the arm, feeling better myself. "Hey, I don't need to depend on you alone to get through the games. I've had a very good trainer who helped me learn how to fight."

Darach smiles at my comment about his training over the years and looks like he wants to make another joke but gets serious. "Are you still upset about the scores?"

I sigh and look around at the mess I made in my room. While it had felt good at the time to smash things, it now seems stupid to have been so angry about something that doesn't really matter. I look back at him and shrug. "Not really. Talking with you has made me realize that they really don't matter in the end. What matters is winning and getting a 9 or a 10 won't change me being victorious." And I feel confident about my words. I have to win these games for multiple people now. I refuse to let Grandma live in sadness or Darach live with the guilt of not saving another person.

Darach's face becomes proud at my returned confidence. "Good." He glances at the mess around us and chuckles before returning his gaze to me. "Well now that we've both let out our feelings and been sad, we should probably get this mess cleaned up."

I feel a little guilty about that as he stands up. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry about expressing feelings," he says immediately and smiles down at me. "It shows that you're alive and life is a precious thing for you right now." His words settle uneasily in me as he turns to walk towards the door, avoiding the glass. "I'll go get someone to clean this up so just sit tight and try not to injure yourself."

"Hey Darach?" I say as he puts his hand on the doorknob. He turns around to look at me curiously. "Make sure you listen to your own advice."

He's silent for a couple seconds and I'm worried that he will shut away his feelings again. But he gives a nod to me and a half smile. "I will, Glacia. Now you should get some rest soon. It's been a long day and tomorrow is going to be even worse."

"Will it really be that bad?" I ask him, not knowing how getting prepared for the interviews could be worse than going in front of the Gamemakers.

Darach smiles knowingly at me before opening the door. "Oh you have no idea what's in store for you tomorrow."

* * *

 **If you want more information about the stories, please go to my website at** **thefifthquarterquell . weebly .com** **! It is now updated through Chapter 7!**

 **And keep checking out the stories that I've submitted tributes to! They're all some great stories and are going to be very interesting Games. Some still have spots open so if you want to submit a tribute, now is your chance!**

 ** _Make Me a Match: 125th Hunger Games_ by Goldie031 ** \- still a couple spots left!

 _ **Danzón**_ **by CelticGames4** \- submissions close very soon

 ** _Bloodline: The 80th Hunger Games_ by One True Victor** \- closed

 ** _Free Falling: The 31st Hunger Games_ by IVolunteerAsAuthor ** \- still lots of spots open

 _ **Ad Mortem**_ **by Little Knight Mik** \- still a few spots open

 **These authors are really great so please go check them out! And look out for any tributes sent in by me!**


	8. Preparations

**Welcome to the 125th Hunger Games!**

 **Just a few things before the story begins. A reminder that this is one story out of two that are taking place during the same time. So if you are reading this story first and plan on reading the other, you may want to read the same chapter from the other in order to avoid spoilers to the character.**

 **I will update the stories on the same day, that way once the games start you can choose which story to read first as there will be some spoilers about what might happen to the other character.**

 **I'll let you begin the story. As always, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. Any comments are good comments.**

 **Let the Games begin!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8:**

"Alright, listen up you two," Flannery says loudly to get our attention and points at me and Lance from the across the table filled with breakfast. "We've got a very busy day ahead of us and need to follow a very tight schedule to make sure you both are prepared for the interviews tonight." She glances down at her tablet in front of her and moves things around before looking back at us, bolder than usual. "We've got two hours before the prep teams will arrive. In that time, you will spend one hour with your mentors to discuss what you will say and do in the interview and the other hour will be with me to make sure you don't look like a complete fool in front of Panem."

Lance reaches to grab another cookie and Flannery slaps his hand away from the plate. He glares over at her before leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms as I try not to laugh at Flannery stopping him. "So what exactly will you be teaching us?"

"How to not slouch in your chair like you're doing right now," Flannery replies casually to him and points at him to emphasis her comment. He immediately starts sitting up at this and Darach chuckles next to me. "I'll also make sure you're not going to disrespect Claudia who is a very nice woman. And Glacia will be taught how to walk in heels."

"That sounds terrible," I mumble before taking a sip of my water. I'll gladly fight a guy larger than me but walking in heels? No thanks.

Flannery slams a hand down on the table, causing me to jump as I look back over at her. "That's enough of you two sassing me right now." She glares at me and Lance for a few seconds before continuing, making sure we're paying attention to her. "Now listen to me very carefully. I'm trying to help you out for your own benefit. I could just let you go out with no etiquette training." This statement has me raising an eyebrow because the look on her face shows that she would never let us go out without training and embarrass her. "But I want you two to do well tonight. It will help you win sponsors and the favor of the Gamemakers, both of which are essential to winning these games. And I have every intention of the victor being from District Two." She stands up and puts both hands on the table as she stares intently at me and Lance. "Are we clear?" We both nod our heads right away and I know I'm shocked by her suddenly taking charge, but also proud of her devotion to us. "Good. Glacia, you're with me first. Lance, go with Roxanne."

Before I can even move, Flannery is grabbing my arm and pulling me out of my chair. I glance over at Darach for help as she starts dragging me off but he just shrugs at me. I sigh as I turn around before I trip, following her towards the bedrooms. This hour is probably going to be unenjoyable.

Flannery leads me into her room and points me to a chair sitting in the middle of the room. "Sit," she commands and I listen to her, looking around the room once I'm sitting. She has a desk set up in the corner, filled with notes that have tons of writing, some things crossed out. I want to see what is written on it but she snaps her fingers near my face to get my attention. I turn back to her and she grabs my shoulders and pulls me up a little. "You're slouching slightly. Sit up like this," she puts her hands on either side of me to make sure I'm sitting straight.

"Is that better?" I ask when she steps back and I continue sitting upright, wanting to avoid her getting commanding again.

She frowns a little but nods her head at me. She steps back over and puts both hands on my knees and pushes them together. "The way you sit is not how ladies should sit with their legs." She shakes her head at this which just leaves me confused. I had no idea that I didn't sit right. "This happens every year with the female volunteers. You spend too much time with the men at the training center and pick up on too many of their habits."

I start frowning at this statement. "Is that a bad thing?" I didn't think before that I acted like the guys from the training center but it shouldn't be a bad thing that I'm like them.

Flannery smiles kindly at me and moves my chin up slightly with her hand. "Not at all, dear. I find that being like the boys helps you stay alive longer in the games. It just makes my job a little tougher now." She steps back and scrutinizes me. Her gaze makes me feel uncomfortable and I try not to let it bother me as later I will have the entire nation watching me. "Cross your ankles when you're sitting," she instructs and points at my feet. I listen to her, feeling a little awkward about sitting like this but she gives a quick nod of approval. "Hold your hands together on your lap when you're sitting."

I do as I'm told and put my hands together and stare at her, feeling stiff and unnatural with how I'm sitting right now. She is silent for a minute as she stares at me and I start wishing I could be working with Darach instead right now. "So do I need to be doing anything else?"

Flannery laughs at this and I feel uncomfortable about being stuck with her for training. "Oh that's just for sitting. We still need to get you walking in heels."

I cringe at this as she turns and walks over to the wall where a dozen pairs of heels are waiting, all of different heights. When she lingers near a pair that looks dangerously high, I start worrying that I'll have to start the games with a broken leg. But she settles on a pair that is barely above the ground and I let out a small sigh of relief. She sets them down in front of me and points at them. "Put them on."

I obey her command and slip the shoes on before slowly standing. I have to grab the arm of the chair to balance myself at first before I can stand up straight. Flannery looks unhappy at me being unbalanced with the shoes on and lets out a loud sigh. "Haven't you had any experience wearing heels before?"

"Just a little when growing up and trying on my mother's shoes," I respond with a shrug, much to her dismay. "But she's the only one who wears them and we're not the same size shoe so I see no point in buying any for myself. And heels aren't really a practical thing at the training center when I need to fight against someone."

"Well they still should have taught you how to walk in them," she closes her eyes for a second and takes a deep breath before looking at me. "Very well. I will show you how to walk in heels and follow my lead." She sets off at a brisk pace around the room and I raise an eyebrow at how she hasn't tripped in the shoes she's wearing. At one point, she turns around to look at me expectantly. "Well? Are you going to start walking or what?"

I take a deep breath before hesitantly stepping towards her, praying silently that I won't hurt myself.

* * *

"How does she walk in those shoes all the time?" I ask Darach as I throw myself down on the couch. I pull my feet up and start rubbing them, not believing how much my feet hurt from the small amount of time walking in heels.

Darach simply laughs at this as he settles down next to me with a plate full of food. He offers it to me but I wave him away, not in the mood for snacking. "Because that's what she's been raised to do her entire life. Just like you have been raised to use a spear. If the roles were reversed and you had to teach her how to fight, she would struggle just as much as you surely just did." I glare over at this comment and he just raises his hands lightheartedly in defense. "Come on, Glacia, I know you well enough to know that you are not a fan of girly things and probably have never worn heels."

I roll my eyes at him before propping my feet up on the small table in front of us. "Since you claim to know me so well, what am I supposed to do in my interview tonight?"

"That's easy," he chuckles before continuing, "Claudia is very predictable with the things she asks. And you make this interview very easy for her." I raise an eyebrow at him as he pauses. He starts counting on his hand, "One, you're the granddaughter of Sylvia Skylar. The Capitol has probably been waiting since the Reaping for you to be asked about her. Two, it's clear that you have had training. And three, your one of two tributes that are 18. You have a good chance of making it far and if Claudia is smart, she'll know this."

"So what do I say? You're not really helping by telling me why Claudia will have an easy time interviewing me," I find myself once again growing annoyed with Darach not just getting to the point with his advice.

Darach pauses for a moment and I stare at him, waiting for him to tell me something to help me out tonight. I've never had an interview like this before and I don't know how I should act around Claudia. "Well, make sure you emphasize the fact that you were chosen to volunteer this year before the Quell was announced. Sponsors will love the fact that we recognized you as being the best female in District Two."

I think about this for a few seconds. Yes, it will be important to mention that fact. I nod at him in understanding. "Okay, what else? Clearly I will need to talk about Grandma."

"Yes, you will," Darach looks off and stares for a few seconds before returning his gaze to me. "While she might not like thinking back on her games, they still love her here in the Capitol. She was the first victor for Two after the Second Rebellion and they haven't forgotten that fact." He smiles sadly at me and I know he cares about her almost as much as I do. "Just don't mention the mental tolls the games have had on her."

"I would never bring that up," I respond defensively, slightly offended that he would really think that I would say that in front of all of Panem. "So I just make sure they are reminded that I'm her granddaughter?"

"I imagine Claudia will probably bring it up herself, but if not, just make sure you remind them," Darach lets out a sigh and we sit in silence for a minute. "Honestly, just answer the questions in a smart way and you should be fine. You know how to hold your tongue when it matters."

I laugh at this statement, remembering my outburst last night and how that was not the case. "That doesn't happen very often."

"Yeah but that's when you're with people you're competing against," Darach remarks with a knowing smile. "When it comes to us trainers or people in a position of power, you know how to respect them."

"Then how come I don't act that way with you?" I counter him, not really sure why I sometimes like to challenge everything he does.

"Because you view me as an equal," he responds with a shrug. "Simple as that. Even though I'm a victor, you never took it easy in fights with me and I did the same. That respect is why I wanted you to be the volunteer in your final year and be the one to mentor you."

I smile at him, feeling happy about his faith in me. "I won't let you down in the games."

"Oh I know you won't," he confidently answers. "But first you need to not let me down at this interview. And to do that, I need you to ignore everything Flannery just taught you except for how to walk in heels."

"Why?" I ask him, puzzled at why I would have to go through all of that training with Flannery just to ignore it.

"She was teaching you how to act all prim and proper. That's not how you are." Darach stands up and starts pacing around in front of where I'm sitting. "You're a fighter, not some lady who cares more about her reputation than anything else."

I watch him pace the room, confused about how I should act in this interview. "Then what do I do? Are the Capitol people really going to want to see me act tough rather than acting proper?"

"Glacia, you're a trained tribute from District Two," he pauses in his walking to cross his arms at me. "What do you think they want?"

"They want to see someone who knows how to fight," I answer him quietly and he resumes his pacing. "Especially with how few tributes are trained this year. They're going to want to see that Two still has a tribute who can definitely win the games."

"Now you're getting it," he moves to the chair next to me and sits back, looking relaxed as he crosses one leg over his near and crosses his arms. "Now sit for me like you would if you were listening to Flannery." I listen to him and sit up straight, struggling to cross my ankles for a couple seconds before I succeed. I place my hands in my lap and look at him. "Now if you were a sponsor, would you think a tribute is really willing to fight if they are sitting like you or sitting like me?"

I'm aware of how painfully posed I'm sitting and it feels very fake to me as I stare at Darach looking confident and relaxed. He looks very much like the bold volunteer he was years ago and I know I would have wanted to sponsor him if I was in the Capitol. "I would pick you."

Darach nods at me. "Glad we are on the same page. Now I want you to sit in a way that reflects how I am."

I stare at him for a few seconds, analyzing his pose and how I could do something similar. I copy his leg position, knowing that gives me a relaxed appearance. But I don't cross my arms like him, not wanting to give the appearance of being closed off. So I rest one on the arm rest and partially lean against it. I try to give him a smirk that shows I feel confident about my ability to fight. "Does this work?"

"Sure, but you might want to change how your legs are. Unless, of course, your goal was to flash everyone in the dress you're going to be wearing tonight," he laughs at this and I feel my face heat up at the embarrassing thought of doing that in front of the whole country. I slide my leg over so I wouldn't accidentally flash anyone. Maybe Flannery was right about me sitting like a guy. "That's better. Now just sit like that, answer all the questions in a way that will make the crowd love you and be afraid of you, and you're set."

"That's all you have for me?" I ask him in disbelief as he stands up and picks up his plate of food. He starts snacking on some fruit and shrugs at me. "Wow, you would think you would be spending the whole hour teaching me."

"I don't need to," he says around food and I give him a look of disgust. He finishes chewing before continuing. "We already have a strong enough relationship that I don't have to spend time working on different angles that you could use. That's one of the many benefits of having a mentor that has known you for years."

I ponder this as I take a piece of apple from his plate. "So are Lance and Roxanne struggling to prepare for tonight?"

"Possibly," Darach answers and shrugs once more. "But it is also possible that they work well together. Roxanne might not help us with training but she's smart and knows how to mentor well." He gives me a bizarre look before sighing at me. "Glacia, you need to stop worrying about him and focus on yourself. We can coach you as much as possible before the games start but once you're in the arena, it's almost entirely up to you."

I sigh at this and stand up, stretching after sitting around. "It's hard not to worry about him when I know he's planning something that's going to affect me."

"I know," he agrees before eating more fruit. I watch him, unsure once again about Lance. He thankful waits until he's done chewing before continuing. "Since you clearly want my advice, here it is. Forget about Lance right now. Your main concern should be the interview tonight and making sure you impress the rich bastards that live here so that they are practically throwing money your way," I raise my eyebrows at his brash choice of words but he just casually waves his hand at me, ignoring it. "And I also suggest eating some of the food because we're almost out of time and the prep teams will be here right when the two hours end. They won't give you a food break and trust me, you'll be starving by the end of getting ready."

I laugh at this but start heading back towards the dining room. He falls into step beside me. "Very well, I'll stuff myself with food. But if my dress doesn't fit later, I'm going to blame you."

Darach simply laughs at this as we approach the table that has been cleared of breakfast foods and now contains an assortment of lunch foods. I grab a few sandwiches that are sliced into tiny triangles and turn to Darach who is also grabbing more food. "Don't do that. Hell hath no fury like a prep team whose outfit isn't working."

I try to picture my prep team becoming angry but just cannot picture it. They seem to lighthearted and happy about their job. But his comment has me curious. "Did you make your prep team angry?"

Darach chuckles at this and I can tell by the look on his face that it's going to be a funny story. "Angry doesn't even begin to describe their reactions. I ripped my pants about five minutes before we were supposed to go on the stage."

"You did not," I respond in disbelief but he nods at me and I burst out laughing. "How did you manage to do that?"

Darach shakes his head at this but laughs as he recalls the memory. "I don't know. I think I was messing around with my District partner and trying to get her to laugh because she was nervous. I was young and stupid and tried to show her that I could still kick someone in the head in my dress pants. Well I proved I could kick that high but the pants did not survive," he pauses as he starts laughing and has to pause for a moment before continuing to tell the story. "Well I got her to laugh, just not the way I intended. Oh my prep team was so angry. You should have seen them running around, frantically trying to sew my pants together."

"Oh that is just too funny," I respond in-between laughing, my sides starting to hurt. "I don't remember you having any embarrassing moments during your interview so I'm guessing they got your pants fixed in time?"

Darach nods at this, still laughing a little. "They got it done just seconds before I had to walk on stage. And that's not even the funniest part of the story. Kat was so angry when she found out about it but couldn't do much about it since I did well at my interview."

I try picturing Kat's reaction and know she must have been furious about it. I've always tried to avoid getting on her bad side, yet here is Darach acting so casual about it. But his comment about his interview has me starting to worry a little about mine tonight. "Hey Darach? Were you nervous before your interview?"

"Yeah I was nervous about my pants ripping again in front of Panem," he jokes around before noticing that I'm being serious. He puts a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. "Of course I was a little nervous. But you want to know what advice Kat told me and I'm going to suggest you follow as well. Focus entirely on Claudia. Try to block out the crowd being there. And if that fails, well, you can look over at me and I'll make a funny face to get you to relax."

"Kat would never make a ridiculous face in public," I say in disbelief that that was part of her advice to him.

"Of course she wouldn't," Darach chuckles at this before nudging my arm. "That's my personal advice to you." Suddenly we can hear voices enter the apartment and grow closer and I know the prep teams must have arrived. "You better finish those sandwiches fast."

I shove a whole piece in my mouth as my prep team enters the room, desperately wanting to finish my food before they start getting me ready. Valerie sets down the two plastic cases she's carrying and holds her arms out in excitement. "Ah there you are Glacia!"

Korinna tsks at me as she takes the plate of food away from me. "Don't stuff yourself on the day of the interview. We don't want you getting nervous and getting sick on stage."

I glance over at Darach and can see him trying to hold his laughter in at the prep team. I turn away from him to see Marcus smiling kindly at me as Valerie picks up her stuff. "Don't worry, dear. If you cooperate and we are going to be early, we can let you have some snacks." Marcus looks at the other two before turning back to me. "Well if everyone is ready, let's get started. We have a lot to do today and need to make sure you look stunning."

I let them start leading me to my room, accepting the fact that they will be working with me for hours. Korinna and Valerie are talking away about a party they attended last night and I fall into step with Marcus. "So when will I get to see my dress?"

"Not until later, I'm afraid," he answers as he opens the door to my room and lets me walk in first. "It is another stunning piece by Serena and you're going to be gorgeous in it."

They start setting their cases down and start pulling out tons of pieces of equipment. Valerie seems to be in charge of doing my hair tonight while Korinna starts setting up a variety of different nail polish bottles. Marcus doesn't start opening his yet and Korinna starts to take out the makeup for him as he looks over me. "Hmm, the dark circles under your eyes will be a pain but I will be able to cover it up. As for your eyes, you have such lovely blue eyes and I need to make them stand out. Possibly a gold smoky eye will work… What do you two think about that? Gold eyes and a red lip?"

"Definitely," Valerie responds instantly and from the way she looks at him, I can tell she will do anything to impress him.

Korinna takes a bit more time to think about it and stares at me intensely. I start to feel uncomfortable under their scrutinizing gazes, especially when she grabs my chin to turn my face. "Not sure about the red lip. Won't that be too much with the dress? Maybe a nude lipstick would be better?"

"No, we want to be bold tonight. Playing it safe won't make her be remembered by the crowd," Marcus mutters to himself as he taps his chin while staring at me. I start questioning his definition of bold as he turns to Korinna. "You match your lipstick color to your outfits all the time. Why should Glacia's look be any different tonight?"

"Do I have a say in it?" I ask and they all fall silent as the stare at me, shocked by my outburst. I start wondering if I was too bold as they continue to silently stare at me. "Well I'm the one wearing the outfit tonight. Shouldn't I be allowed to voice my opinion about it?"

After a few seconds pass, Marcus starts to smile at this and laughs lightly. "Of course you should. No one has ever asked us to give their opinion before and it was simply surprising."

I start smiling at his response and look around at the other two, feeling like I've gained their respect for wanting to be part of the process. As I turn back to Marcus, I realize that I don't have very much knowledge on makeup but I've watched enough interviews that I think I can make a good choice. "So the options are red or nude? Well what's the dress color?"

Marcus chuckles at this and pulls out a small piece of fabric from his pocket to show me and I start smirking at the color. "Blood red."

* * *

"We're almost done, sweetheart," Valerie says apologetically as I let out a small noise of pain at her tugging on my hair again.

"Yes, please hurry so you won't make her move and ruin my makeup," Marcus mutters as he continues to brush powder onto my eyes. After several hours of sitting through this, I don't think I can handle much more from them. At least Korinna has been done with my nails for a while and working on making sure their dry.

Valerie gives one last tug on my hair before clapping. "There, I'm done!"

"Good," Marcus approves as he pauses briefly from putting makeup on. "Give it a good spray so it stays in place. Glacia, open your eyes from me please." I listen to him and see him standing in front of me as Valerie holds her hand above my face and starts spraying my hair. "Now I want you to look up while I put mascara on your lashes. And don't blink."

I stare up at the ceiling and struggle against the urge to blink as the brush touches my eyelashes. I find myself almost about to blink when he stops and I let out a small sigh of relief that I won't mess up his makeup. As I stare at him, he analyzes the makeup he's been so carefully applying. "Hmm, Korinna, can you grab me the pair of false lashes with the gold gems on the ends?"

I watch her rummage through the supplies as Valerie comes around to look at my face. "You've outdone yourself, Marcus. And I have to say, the red lip was definitely a good choice."

"Well I'm not done yet," he mutters as he takes the lashes from Korinna and quickly gets them ready to put on. As he's carefully putting the first one on, the door opens and he grabs ahold of my face. "Don't you dare turn right now."

I listen to him, slightly afraid of making him angry like Darach had with his prep team years ago. Marcus starts to put the lashes on the other eye as Serena walks in front of me so that I can look at her. "Hello, Glacia. I see my prep team has gotten you ready to stun the crowds."

"I don't know about the stunning part because I haven't been able to see myself in hours," I respond and laugh a little as Marcus steps back. I notice the large bag she is holding and I nod towards it. "So do I finally get to see the dress?"

"Yes, you do," she smiles smugly as she hands the bag to Korinna to hold while she carefully starts unzipping it. "What have they told you about it?"

"Just the color," I respond as fabric starts falling out of the bag. She carefully takes it out and I raise an eyebrow at the floor length gown. It looks tight in all the places I normally don't pay attention to. But then I notice the extra sheer fabric hanging down from the shoulders. "Is that a cape on it?"

"Yes," Serena appears to be a little offended at my response to it. "The theme of the chariot rides is being extended to the interview outfits for the females. Lisia seems to think that having capes attached to the dresses will continue to make you appear goddess-like. And so you have a cape."

"Well, I don't know anything really about high fashion so I can't say if it's a good decision or not from Lisia," I shrug at this but smile at her. "Let's see how this looks on me."

Korinna helps me slip off the robe I've been wearing as Marcus and Valerie carefully take the dress from Serena and prepare to slip it on me without messing up the hair and makeup they spent so much time on. After a minute of careful maneuvering, they slide the dress completely down and start smoothing it out. As the cape falls over my shoulders, I grab ahold of the fabric and swing it a little, slightly amused by the extra fabric. I glance back up at Serena to see her staring at it intently, not seeming happy. "Can I look in the mirror?"

"Not yet," she responds immediately. "It needs something. Korinna, you have the container of accessories? There should be a gold belt that looks like woven rope." The girl starts digging through a box, pulling out numerous pieces of jewelry that probably cost enough that they could support a family for months back in Two. Finally, she hands over a piece to Serena. "Yes, this is exactly what it needs. Glacia, hold up your arms please." I follow her instructions and she quickly places the belt around my waist. When she steps back, she finally looks content. "It's perfect now. Go ahead and turn around."

I take a deep breath before I turn around, slightly anxious about how I will look. And when I catch sight of myself in the mirror, I'm shocked at how I look. The red dress shows off curves I didn't know I had, it's higher neckline giving it a classy appeal while still making me look sexy. And the gold belt adds the perfect touch, making my waist appear small and giving me an hourglass figure. As for the cape, oh I thought it would make the dress look tacky but it does the opposite. The prep team did amazing work, the lipstick matching the dress perfectly and the makeup brings out the blue in my eyes. I now have an explanation for the constant tugging on my hair when Valerie was styling it as three French braids go back into a high, perfectly straight ponytail. Simple gold earrings finish off the look, now matching with the belt.

"Well what do you think?" Serena asks as she looks in the mirror with me over my shoulder.

"It's amazing," I respond quietly, still overwhelmed at my appearance. I turn around to look at all of them, noticing how the cape flares dramatically as I do so. I look at the prep team and feel suddenly grateful for their work. "Thank you. You three did so much for me and I wouldn't look this great without you."

Marcus smiles proudly at me. "It was nothing. This is something we all love to do."

I turn back to Serena as the other two nod their heads in agreement. "Well dear, if you're ready, we can get going downstairs." With an unspoken word, Marcus moves and picks up a pair of black heels, thankfully shorter than the worst pair I walked in earlier. As he helps me slip them on, Serena takes my hand to keep me steady.

As Marcus helps me get the second shoe on I notice that the bottom of the shoes are red and I chuckle a little. "How many ways can you incorporate red into this outfit?"

"I thought the red on the bottom of the shoes was a nice subtle touch," Serena remarks quietly to me and I stand up straight in the shoes. I try to keep steady and look up at her to see her smiling smugly at me. "It's not that easy to walk in them, is it?"

"No but I'm determined to make it work," I answer her, accepting the challenge that is this outfit. "Let's get going." Serena motions for me to lead the way out of the room and I start walking, slow at first to make sure I'm steady on my feet. As we make it into the living room, no one else is around and I turn back to Serena confused. "Where is everyone else?"

"Your mentors and escort had to leave earlier to get to their seats in the crowd since they have special seats," she informs me as we reach the elevator with my prep team right behind us. "As for Lance, I imagine he is already downstairs since the boys always take less work to get ready."

The doors open quietly and we step on as I process this information. I would have like to see Darach one more time before the interviews started. Serena seems to notice that I'm not feeling well about the interviews and comfortingly takes my hand. "It's going to be alright. Really. The interview is only three minutes long and Claudia makes every effort to help you answer the questions."

I nod my head at this as the doors open and we step out on the main floor of the tribute center. The windows have been covered to prevent anyone from seeing us ahead of the interviews. Even from inside I can hear the crowd cheering in excitement. Many of the tributes are already here, some with stylists and prep teams making last minute adjustments. I immediately notice that the pairs of tributes are wearing matching colors and I wonder if this was part of the theme. Sure enough, Lance is waiting in line near the front, his silver-haired stylist making adjustments to his hair.

I look over at my own stylist with her silver blonde hair and recall that Claudia has similar colored hair. "Hey Serena? I'm just curious. Is silver hair a trend right now?"

She gives me an amused smile before looking over at her partner. "Yes, I suppose it is. A trend in the very early stages of being popular." We continue walking in silence for a few seconds as Lance looks over and sees us approaching. He's been put in a matching red jacket with black accents, along with black dress pants. He looks good dressed up like this and I'm sure he will get plenty of sponsors tonight. "After the games are done, I imagine many people with be copying Claudia's fashion choices, including the hair color."

We reach Lance and his stylist and he gives me a nod of greeting as he takes in my appearance. I repeat the action and look around at the tributes around us, noticing that all of the girls around us have a cape attached to their dresses. And after walking around a bit and feeling it lift up behind me, I like the feeling of power it gives me. I turn to Serena and give her a half smile. "You know, the cape is really growing on me."

She gives me a small smile in return as she straightens out my dress. "I knew you would like it eventually." She pauses to look around and I notice Ryoko next to us in a white suit covered in gold embellishments. It's over the top yet fitting for District One. "Alright Glacia, I think we need to get going. Just remember what I told you."

I nod at her in understand, trying to recall what Darach told me so many hours ago. Lance's stylist also recognizes that he should go with Serena. "I will be leaving too. Good luck, Lance."

"Thanks Galen," he replies before the pair leaves us and I notice how they match a lot. It's almost nice to see that the stylists for Two are united. I turn back to Lance and see him watching me expectantly. "Are you ready for this?"

I want to answer honestly, that I'm starting to freak out a little inside, but I remember that we are around all of the other tributes. I can even see on his face that he is feeling nervous too but I can't focus on him right now. So I shrug at him, hoping to stay casual around the others. "Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be."

"Oh you'll be just fine!" Ryoko interrupts and I look over my shoulder to see him watching us excitedly. He doesn't appear to be nervous at all about these interviews and I find myself a little envious of him. "Both of you will be fine, just look at the scores you got. The crowd loves you already!"

Lance laughs at this and I turn back to him, shaking my head a little as Lance responds to him. "If only we all had the confidence that you have, Ryoko!" The younger boy laughs at this and I stare at Lance, wondering what is going through his mind. He gives me a strained smile, "You need to stand in front of me in line, someone came through earlier and said that the girls go first for each District."

I nod my head at this, not trusting myself to speak right now and not show how nervous I am starting to get. Seeing everyone else around me dressed nice has made it set in that the interviews really are about to happen. My stomach is twisting inside and the confidence I felt earlier with Darach has seemingly disappeared. I take a deep breath to steady myself before moving in-between Lance and Ryoko. With the heels, I tower over the younger boy and match Lance's height.

"Attention tributes," a voice announces and I almost jump at the sound. "Please prepare for your interviews. The interviews start in one minute. Again, please prepare for your interviews. Thank you."

I look over at Lance, struggling to control my breathing as I hear the crowd start cheering louder. Claudia's voice can be heard, muffled by the building. "Welcome Panem! Tonight is a very special night as we have the opportunity to hear from all 22 tributes. Each tribute will have three minutes to impress us on the last night before the games begin! Shall we bring them out?"

As the crowd screams even louder, I can see that Lance is just as nervous as I am. "Good luck," I whisper to him as the doors open in front of us and the crowd's cheers come in clear to us.

"You too," I hear him respond as I look ahead to where Lorelei is leading us out onto the stage, lights bright on the stage.

I hold my head up high, knowing it's the most important moment I've ever had where I need to pretend to be feeling confident and ready to fight. And then I step out onto the stage.

* * *

 **So I just started a new story, this time it is a SYOT. It will take place in the 149th Hunger Games and in this AU I have created. Please go check it out and think about submitting :)**

 **If you want more information about the stories, please go to my website at** **thefifthquarterquell . weebly .com** **! It is now updated through Chapter 8!**


	9. Interviews Part 1

**Welcome to the 125th Hunger Games!**

 **Just a few things before the story begins. A reminder that this is one story out of two that are taking place during the same time. So if you are reading this story first and plan on reading the other, you may want to read the same chapter from the other in order to avoid spoilers to the character.**

 **I will update the stories on the same day, that way once the games start you can choose which story to read first as there will be some spoilers about what might happen to the other character.**

 **I'll let you begin the story. As always, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. Any comments are good comments.**

 **Let the Games begin!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9:**

The screams of the crowd are overwhelming as I step out on the stage, initially blinded by the many lights shining down, making sure everyone can see us clearly. But once I become adjusted, I smirk and wave out at the crowd, determined to make the best impression out of everyone. Lorelei seems to know where to lead us and I follow her to the arc of chairs that sit in back of the stage on a raised platform so that the crowd can see us the entire time. The stairs pose a challenge in this dress and skirt and I take my time, hoping the crowd doesn't notice me struggling. But I would rather show inability to walk up stairs than fall in front of everyone. Once the pair in front of me has reached their seats, they stay standing and turn towards the crowd. Ryoko is waving excitedly while Lorelei is looking more refined as she waves to them.

I follow their action and pause in front of the third chair, turning to finally get my first real glimpse at the crowd while I wave to them. Claudia is watching us all walk on, beaming as she sees the tributes she will get to interview very soon. At the front of the crowd sits all of the stylists, most looking proud of their work. Behind them are the mentors and escorts and I search for Darach and relief fills me when I see the comforting grin on his face. He gives me a subtle thumbs up, indicating that I'm doing well so far and I give him a brief nod of thanks. And then I notice just how many people have crowded into the City Circle to watch us tonight. They have provided raised seats along the edges for the richest people in the Capitol but the space between them and the teams for the tributes is completely packed with people, all of them cheering in excitement. It's overwhelming to see this many people in front of us right now and my nerves hit me again causing my heart to race.

I look around the buildings as the last of the tributes make it to their seats and see a balcony close by to our right that is filled with the Gamemakers. Lisia Arune stands near the front, watching us all closely but looking pleased at our appearances. On a balcony directly across from them, I can see President Xavier sitting with his closest officials. Those two balconies are the ones to watch since they contain the people who can control who ends up winning the games.

"Welcome, tributes!" Claudia shouts as she stands in front of us and holds her arms out, gesturing to the crowd behind her that is cheering louder. "You may sit down in your chairs before we get started. Now the rules are simple," she begins to pace the stage, still watching us. As I sit down, I take in her outfit, a pure white dress that has the back open, showing off painted roses. "Each of you will be interviewed by me for three minutes. The ladies will go first for each District." She makes eye contact with each of us before continuing and I return her gaze fiercely, knowing I must show the Capitol that I am not afraid of this interview. "Use this time wisely. Your three minutes are the only time we will hear from you before the games start tomorrow morning. Make it count." Claudia turns around to address the crowd who are silent as they are hooked on each word she says. I'm amazed by her ability to captivate the crowd like this. "Now," she says quietly and pauses to create suspense. "I'm your ever humble host, Claudia Flickerman. But you already know about me. The people you don't know are the 22 tributes sitting behind me." I watch her expression on the screens around the City Circle and can see her starting to smile. "Let's begin!"

The crowd starts cheering once more as Claudia turns around and points to Lorelei. The girl stands up and makes her way down to the chairs placed in the center of the stage, head held high and shoulders back. She looks gorgeous tonight in her white gown that shows off her curves, gold roses embroidered onto the shoulders and the edges of the cape where her arms go through it. And with her hair falling in waves down her back, she is the picture of District One beauty and I find myself filled with jealousy towards her looks. But I control my face as I cross my legs, leaning back in my seat to appear casual as Darach instructed me to do. Lorelei might be the first to be interviewed but we have only been on stage for a few minutes. Surely there are people still watching me in the crowd.

Claudia shakes Lorelei's hand and gestures to the seats where they both sit, Lorelei sitting exactly like Flannery had told me to. I start smirking a little at the fact that she is putting off more vibes of being simply a pretty face and not a trained killer. Claudia half addresses the crowd as she sits facing Lorelei, looking graceful and beautiful despite having been doing this job for years. In fact, she barely looks 30, let alone her real age of 42. "Starting off the interviews tonight for the Fifth Quarter Quell is Lorelei Caromere from District One!" She seemingly knows when the crowd is going to react and pauses for them to applaud before turning to Lorelei. "Now can I just start off by saying that you look stunning like always in that dress. I think my heart started beating faster when you first walked out on stage," she turns to the crowd and gives them a grin. "Did you feel that way too?"

As the crowd shouts back agreements to her, Lorelei starts laughing at this and the sound irritates me because she knows that she is winning over the crowd with her beauty. "Thank you, I do have a wonderful stylist. This dress is just amazing." Lorelei stops to give her stylist a dazzling smile who her raises her hand in recognition as the crowd cheers for her.

Claudia waits for the crowd to die down and I wish she would just continue talking about Lorelei's looks the entire time so that I can amaze the crowd with my skills. "Now you are the tribute with the highest score," a few people in the crowd cheer at this and Claudia for a fraction of a second looks annoyed at the interruption before continuing. "I know, pretty impressive. Lorelei, what was your reaction when you saw that you earned a 10?"

So help me, Lorelei actually flips her hair over the shoulder. I have to fight not to roll my eyes at her trying so hard to appear sexy in front of the Capitol crowds and at the reminder that she earned the highest score. It's only a raised eyebrow from Darach that reminds me that I have to control my reactions. "I was pleasantly surprised," Lorelei starts to respond, sounding humble about it. But I know from training that she is not the sweet girl she wants the Capitol to see. "I worked hard for that score, of course, but I didn't want to get my hopes up before in case I didn't earn that 10."

"Now you mentioned that you worked hard," Claudia responds to her and Lorelei nods her head at this. "Does that mean you have trained?"

"Yes I have," Lorelei answers proudly about this and smirks at the crowd who cheers a little in excitement. Oh if the crowd is that excited now about her training, just wait until they hear about my training.

Claudia continues on this topic, still looking attentive and like an energetic host. "Did you ever think about volunteering for the games?"

"Of course I did," Lorelei answers immediately to this and seems slightly annoyed at this question. I can't blame her because it's an obvious answer for anyone who spends years training. "Otherwise I wouldn't have spent so much time training. I still had one year left so who knows if I would have been selected as the volunteer. I would hope that I would have been chosen but hey, I'm still going to fight just as hard now as I would have if I was fighting in a year," she finishes this statement with a casual shrug and I can see that the people in the crowd are paying so much attention to her.

"So you're pretty and determined to fight," Claudia says with a laugh that the crowd joins in. "Now, you seem smart about your training and choices for the games," Claudia continues once the crowd has stopped laughing and I scoff quietly at the statement. This causes Lance to have to cough next to me to hold in a laugh and I smile a little at the reaction to me. "Surely you're not going to fight in the games alone. Who are your allies?"

Lorelei smiles about this but I can see in her eyes from training with her that she isn't happy about her ally choices. Well that's one thing we agree on. But she answers Claudia with a smile, clearly trained well to answer the questions. "Well we're keeping together the District alliance that normally happens with One, Two, and Four so everyone from those Districts are my allies."

The crowd applauds this and I feel a sense of pride at being part of that alliance. I know the Capitol always loves the tributes from our Districts who have trained and I wouldn't have been surprised if they were worried that without volunteers, there wouldn't be that alliance. Claudia grins at this, "I love to see such District loyalty like that, especially with the age difference between all six of you this year." She pauses briefly and I look over at the balcony with the President to see him looking pleased about this as well. The buzzer goes off to signify the end of Lorelei's interview as I find myself okay with dealing with the younger tributes if it means the President supports the alliance. Anything to stay alive. Claudia gives Lorelei a smile before turning to the crowd. "We are out of time with Lorelei. Give a round of applause for her!" The crowd cheers as she stands up and waves at them before starting to return to her seat. "Now let's hear from her District partner, Ryoko Siras!"

The boy jumps up from the seat next to me and practically runs down to Claudia, almost knocking Lorelei over in his rush. The crowd laughs at this and I shake my head at how energetic he is as Lance chuckles next to me. I really hope that energy isn't going to get him killed right away tomorrow. He starts shaking Claudia's hand excitedly as she looks surprised at his attitude. Of course, she hasn't seen him in training to become used to it. "Wow this is so exciting! I'm so happy that I get to have an interview with you!" The crowd is still laughing at his infectious good mood as he sits down and waves at them. "There's so many people here! This is so cool!"

Claudia finally seems to collect herself at his surprising entrance and tries to start his interview. "Yes, we always have an excellent turnout here in the Capitol for the games and take great joy in the festivities-"

"There's got to be thousands here!" Ryoko interrupts her as he looks around the City Circle in awe. "More people than I've ever seen back in One."

"So Ryoko-"

"Is that one of the cameras?" he ignores her once again and points to one of the cameras on the edge of the stage before waving at it, a goofy grin on his face. "Hi mom!"

I find myself laughing a little at how Claudia can't seem to control him before she finally shouts a little at him. "Ryoko!"

The boy turns to her, looking confused about her outburst as if he didn't notice that he has been ignoring her. "Yes?"

The crowd is in hysterics laughing at him while Claudia seems to just not know what to do with him. It's so rare to see her flustered like this by a tribute. "Clearly you're excited about being here and part of the games," she holds up a hand to stop him from talking and I can see out of the corner of my eye Lorelei shaking her head at her District partner. "We just found out from Lorelei that you have an alliance. How do you feel about all of them?"

Ryoko grabs the armrests as he starts talking quickly about our alliance. I pay attention to him, curious what he will say about me. "Well Lorelei is so cool and I look up to her because you know, she's already gone through most of the training which is what I wanted to do. But oh well, change of plans." The crowd laughs at his casual acceptance about being chosen before he was done with training and Claudia sits back in her chair as he continues, propping her arm on the armrest and resting her chin on her hand. "Glacia is crazy good at using weapons and man, she's going to kick so much butt tomorrow in the games," I start smirking at what he said about me, happy to have the Capitol be told how good I am at fighting, especially since he didn't say that about Lorelei. "And Lance is a great guy and fun to be around. Ardos is also a nice guy and the way he acts towards Anabel is so nice but also a little overbearing at times but he's like an older brother to her so it's okay." I glance over at the boy from Four to see him looking angry at the statement and have to stop myself from laughing at the way Ryoko is describing all of my allies in a way that makes me see the best. Claudia seems to have accepted that she isn't going to be able to control the interview with Ryoko and is content to just let him ramble. "And Anabel is great! I had so much fun with her in training and we get along so well."

He continues to talk about training with Anabel before the buzzer finally goes off and Claudia immediately perks up when it causes Ryoko to stop talking. "Thank you, Ryoko, for that riveting description of your allies." The crowd laughs at this as he waves and heads back to his seat quickly. It's once he's sitting next to me that I realize I am next to go up and feel my heart racing as the nerves that I was distracted from while listening to Ryoko hit me. The crowd quiets down as they wait for Claudia to welcome me to the stage and I know they have been waiting to hear from me. It's not often that you have a relative of a victor in the games. I take a deep breath as Claudia makes sure she has the crowd's attention before speaking once more. "Now everyone please join me in welcoming from District Two, Glacia Skylar!"

I stand up as the crowd cheers loudly, holding my head high as I start to make my way towards the stairs closest to me. I pray that I won't trip on the stage and try to control the shaking in my hands as I hold my dress up away from my feet. Once I'm on the solid floor of the stage, I look up and find Darach immediately who gives me a nod of encouragement, reminding me that I can do this. I start smirking and wave to the crowd as I walk over to the seat, getting louder cheers from them. The applause from them has me feeling less nervous and I remind myself that I deserve to be here as I reach Claudia and shake her hand firmly.

She gestures to the seat and I sit down as the crowd quiets, wanting to hear everything I have to say. I cross my legs as I lean against the arm rest, looking casual as I smile at Claudia. "Alright, Glacia, you were pretty excited at the Reaping when you were picked."

"Of course," I interrupt her when she pauses briefly, happy that she is bringing this up because it's a perfect way to lead into talking about how I was picked to be the volunteer.

Claudia raises an eyebrow at my boldness as she continues. "Want to explain why?"

"Gladly," I say and chuckle a little, happy that this interview is working perfectly so far. "Getting picked was exactly what I wanted to happen. I want to be here competing in the games and now that I'm 18, it was my last chance."

"And the rumor is," Claudia says and pauses to create drama as I wait curiously to find out what is the rumor. "You were going to be the chosen female volunteer this year in District Two. Is that correct?"

I almost want to get up and start dancing in joy at how Claudia is just handing me everything I wanted for this interview on a silver platter. I could talk all day about being picked as volunteer. "It is," I say and making eye contact with Darach who is smirking at how well this is going. "I've been training for years and the victors of District Two thought I would be the best female to compete this year in the Quell. Well, until President Xavier announced that there would be no volunteers."

We both laugh at this and Claudia adds, "Well clearly, not even the President could stop you from competing!" The crowd also laughs at this and I glance over at Xavier to see the faintest hint of a smile on his face. Good, we didn't offend him at all. I return my attention to Claudia as the crowd quiets down and can tell she's very interested in this interview. "But what about your score? You did not receive the highest, despite your training. In fact, your District partner received the same score."

Her comment makes me want to get angry about this, especially since she had to mention that Lance did just as well as me. But I look out at Darach and see him shake his head at me, reminding me not to become angry at this. So I tell Claudia the same thing Darach had told me last night when I was upset about my score. "Well Claudia, I don't think the score is an accurate representation of my abilities. The scores are a starting point for people to place bets but that all changes as soon as the games start."

The crowd is absolutely silent at this response and Claudia is giving me a surprised look at the statement. I can only hope it's because I'm giving off a confident vibe. "Are you saying Lisia Arune gave you the wrong score?"

I can see people in the crowd looking to my right to look up at the Head Gamemaker but I fight the urge to look at her, not sure if I have offended her at all. Instead, I keep my eyes on Claudia and casually shrug at this, hoping to create a bit of mystery around me with my response. "You can interpret what I said however you want."

Claudia waits for a few seconds to see if I will say anything more about it before moving on to the next question, still looking a little surprised about my boldness about my score. "Now, I know everyone has been dying for me to ask you this since the Reaping," she pauses to chuckle about her choice of words and some of the crowd joins in before she becomes serious and I have a feeling in my gut what she is about to ask me about. "Your grandmother is Sylvia Skylar, oldest living victor in District Two. Many of us in the Capitol love her and view her as an old friend. How does she feel about you being here?"

I keep my face blank as I think about Grandma, saddened at how much I miss her. But I can see that every screen around the City Circle is on my face and I refuse to let them see that weakness. So I put on a confident face as I give them the answer they've been waiting to hear for days. "She is worried, of course. Any family member should be worried about a relative in the games, even if they are as prepared as I am." I pause for a few seconds as I realize that she is surely watching me now and I can give her a subtle message that I will fight to return to her. I look at one of the cameras as I continue, wishing I could see her right now. "But she understands that this is something that I need to do and supports me, knowing I will fight as hard as I possibly can to make sure I become the victor." I look back at Claudia, aware that the crowd is hanging on to my every word. "For her."

The crowd claps at this and I'm reminded of just how much they love Grandma. She may have won years ago and not as a trained tribute, but she still was charismatic and won over their hearts. Even Claudia seems to want to react to this but doesn't, wanting to stay relatively neutral to the tributes. "I have time for one last question. What should we expect from you in the games?"

I start smirking at this and take a couple seconds to answer, hopefully building suspense. "Well I won't tell you any details about my plans if that's what you're trying to get me to talk about," I pause as I get the crowd to laugh at this and I wink at them, filled with joy that they are enjoying my interview and me. I give a final answer, full of confidence that I hope will make sure people want to sponsor me. "But be prepared for me to make these games the most exciting to happen in years."

The crowd starts cheering and are still reacting to this statement as the buzzer goes off. I stand up and wave at them, earning more applause from them. Claudia speaks over them, "Thank you, Glacia!" As I return to my seat, I walk confidently now that the interview is over and I know that I impressed them all. When I reach the top of the stairs, I briefly make eye contact with Lorelei and can see the contempt for me in her eyes that I did better than her. I give the smallest shrug at her, not feeling bad about this at all as I continue walking to my seat. The crowd is still cheering as I sit down and I look out to the mentors and see Darach clapping loudly with them, smiling proudly at me. I smile at his approval, hopeful that I was able to remind them that I am the best trained. I look over at Lisia next, worried that I offended her with my comment about my score. The last thing I need is to bring on her wrath in the games. But she gives me a knowing smirk and I have a feeling that we're on the same page about my score as the crowd starts to quiet down.

I let out a breath of relief that my interview is over and relax in my chair as Claudia gets ready to speak once more. That's when I glance over and can see Lance sitting tense next to me as he prepares for his interview. "Next up is Lance Henderson!" The crowd resumes cheering as he stands up and straightens his jacket as he quickly makes his way down the stage, putting his hands in his pockets as he grins out at the crowd. It almost seems as if more females start cheering at this and I raise an eyebrow curiously as I take in his appearance more now that I'm not nervous. Somehow, they have made him look very attractive and it's no wonder that the Capitol females are going crazy about him. Maybe he is more of a threat than I thought he was, especially if he can win over a lot of the crowd.

As Lance approaches Claudia, he gives her a dazzling smile and shakes her hand, giving off a confidence that I've never seen from him before. I watch him as he sits down, perplexed by this change in his attitude. But the success of my interview doesn't have me too worried as I know I won over many people tonight.

The crowd starts to quiet down and Claudia gives him a smile before starting his interview. "Now this is actually the second time that I've interviewed you." I almost start scowling at her giving him a question that gives him an easy opportunity to win over the crowd. I should have known she would try to be fair and wouldn't just do that for me, especially when his sister's victory is still fresh in the minds of the Capitol.

Lance also seems aware that Claudia is giving him the opportunity to win over the crowd. "Yes," he says casually before chuckling a little as he makes himself comfortable, leaning back in the chair and crossing his legs just like Darach had done earlier. When did he learn how to act like a career? "It's been five years since you interviewed me. Back when my sister was competing in her games." It's no surprise that he's already brought up Maylene. It's one of the only things he can use to give him an edge over the others. "You know, the only thing that has changed about you has been your hair. Otherwise, you still look just as gorgeous!" He turns to the crowd and I'm honestly in shock that he is using the crowd and also trying to flatter Claudia. "How does she do it?" He asks the crowd and they start laughing at this question.

I briefly look at Claudia in the screens around the City Circle to see that the flattery is working at least a little on her. No way did Lance come up with this plan on his own. "Oh stop," Claudia says as I look out at Roxanne sitting next to Darach. And sure enough, there's the faintest hint of a smug look on her face.

I shake my head a little at these as I lean back in my chair and cross my arms as Lance continues on with complimenting Claudia's looks. "What, you can't be a day over 30. Maybe not even older than 25!" The crowd is loving this and I wish they would stop laughing along with him. Oh Roxanne was so clever with telling him to flatter the host. I underestimated her training him because I forgot that she was once a career like me. And clearly, her mind still works like one.

Claudia is laughing a little as I return my gaze to the two sitting on the stage in time to see Lance grinning at his success with the crowd. "If you knew my age, you would not be saying all these flattering things to me," she says around laughter and with each second she spends laughing at his jokes, I feel like the crowd is going to forget about my interview. Sure, I made them laugh at things but I wasn't charismatic like Lance is right now. "But this interview is about you," Claudia says before taking a few seconds to get back on track. At least one good thing about Lance wasting time with flattery is that now she has less time to ask him real questions. "Now last time I interviewed you, you were quite worried about your sister if I remember correctly."

"Oh I was terrified for her," he admits and I wonder how he's going to use this to his advantage. I try to remember back to Maylene's games and when he was interviewed but don't remember anything as I had been too busy watching Maylene fight in the games. "She was fighting not just for her life but to keep me safe."

"Of course," Claudia responds to him and I find myself thinking the same thing. He's going to use this to bring up the sob story that Maylene had about trying to get him away from an alcoholic and abusive father. Everyone knows it. And back then, I had been hooked by it too. But now, it's just another annoying thing that Lance gets to use to his advantage to make up for his lack of training. "I think we were all moved by the touching story of her fighting for you," she continues and lets the crowd shout in agreement with her. Lance continues to look pleased about how this interview is going for him so far. "So I have to ask you: how does Maylene feel now that you are competing in the games after she struggled to win?"

Lance takes a moment to think about this before answering and I know he's trying his best to use his sister as a crutch to win sponsors. At least I didn't have to use Grandma like that and have my own skills. "Well I'm sure she's even more worried than I was five years ago. We do know just how much she will do when she is concerned about me," he chuckles at this and some in the crowd join him, much to my annoyance. But I watch as his eyes suddenly light up in excitement and he starts smirking. "But you can just ask her how she feels when you reach the interviews for the Final Eight."

Damn it, that was such a good comment. And the crowd loves it too and I find myself growing angrier as Claudia continues, wishing the time would run out already and stop giving him opportunities to do well. "I imagine I will be spending a lot of time in District Two this year for interviews," this comment has me sit up a bit straighter when I realize she's referring to me. All hope is not lost yet that some will still remember my interview despite Lance doing well. "I do always love to visit the victors and I know everyone else here in the Capitol would love to see Maylene once more." I internally cringe as the crowd becomes loud at this statement and Claudia points a finger at Lance. "Don't disappoint us and leave us without an opportunity to interview her!"

Lance responds coolly to her comment and I look out at Darach in the crowd, not believing that Lance is actually doing this well. "Oh I won't because I can't let her down and that means making it to being a victor." My mentor gives me a confused look and a shrug, silently telling me that he is just as surprised as I am right now.

"Now Lance, you did hesitate at the Reaping," Claudia mentions and I find myself starting to smirk a little now that she finally mentions something bad about him. I doubt he'll be able to find a good way to twist this to work in his favor.

"Yeah and that means nothing now," he interrupts before Claudia can say anyone, clearly trying to stop her from bringing up anything else negative. He sits up straight before continuing, not looking at all like the person of hesitated at the Reaping. He really has changed in the few days since being picked. "I was shocked that my name had been drawn since the chances were so low. More than half the tributes here also hesitated," he adds with a gesture to the tributes sitting to my right and I can't deny that it was a smart move to use them for emphasis. "It means nothing now and I'm not going to hesitate again."

I was wrong about him not being able to find a way to get his hesitation to work for him. The Capitol crowd loves his statement and even Claudia nods her head at this. So much for being a neutral host and not having any favorites during the interviews. "I'm sure that confidence right there is what got you that 9 in training." Lance starts grinning at this and I start scowling a little at the reminder that he scored the same as me. That is, until I look at Darach and he gives me a look to knock it off. "Now that is a very high score from someone who presumably has no training if Maylene did manage to keep you away from it. So can you let us in on what has happened in the three days of training?"

I wish he would answer honestly that he struggled for the first two days to settle on a weapon that worked for him. But instead, he shakes his head and smiles before pointing at the balcony filled with the Gamemakers. "No can do. I don't think Miss Arune up there would be too happy about it." He pauses to look over at her and I also look over at the Head Gamemaker in time to see her smirk and shake her finger against this. This causes the crowd to laugh and I start slouching in my chair, starting to accept that Lance is just better at talking to people. "You'll just have to wait until tomorrow. I plan on keeping everyone on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next."

Did he just make a subtle hint about his plan with Caitlin? No, he wouldn't be that bold and say that in front of all of the other tributes. Or would he? Clearly the crowd loves his comment and are going crazy as Claudia responds to him before the buzzer. "I can hardly wait." The crowd continues applauding for him as he smiles and waves at them, causing Claudia to struggle to be heard over them. "Thank you, Lance!"

He gets up from his seat and starts returning towards the rest of us as the crowd continues to scream and clap for him. I put on a fake smile as he approaches, knowing they are going to watch him sit down and will see me right next to him. Oh he looks so content with himself as he walks up the stairs and I feel myself starting to be filled with rage at him doing better than me in the interview. This was supposed to be my moment to shine and win over the crowd but he went and stole it away.

Our eyes meet as he reaches the top of the stairs and I know I must be giving him a look of pure hatred. He doesn't flinch away from this and actually starts smirking a little as he sits down next to me. I find myself wishing that the games had started already so it would be acceptable for me to punch him and knock that smirk right off of his face. Soon, very soon, I will be able to do that.

Claudia gets the crowd to settle down so she can bring the next tribute out but I find myself unable to pay attention to the poor girl who has to go after our two interviews. There's no hope for her to impress the crowd. Instead, I find myself sulking about Lance's interview. He managed to do fantastic, despite his reluctance at almost every step of the games so far. He's going to get more sponsors than I will. He's somehow just better at acting confident and joking around with the Capitol crowd. Even though I have no clue how he learned how to act like that. There's no way Roxanne could have taught that to him in an hour. But then again, he has been living with an older sister that was a career. Perhaps he learned from her.

I smile smugly to myself as the girl gets asked something about how she can use her smarts in the games. At least I didn't have to spend half of my interview talking about Grandma. One thing I do have going for myself that Lance doesn't was that I didn't depend on the name of the victor I'm related to in order to win over the crowd. Yeah Lance might have had the crowd laughing most of the time but he barely talked about himself or his capability to fight in the games.

The girl walks back to her seat, her three minutes going by quickly as I get distracted in my thoughts about Lance's interview. I look out at Darach as the boy from Three makes his way over to Claudia. My mentor is giving me a curious look, probably wondering what I'm thinking about right now. I simply give him a small shrug before staring at Claudia and the boy, keeping my face clear of emotions and being glad I've had years of practice. I stare at the boy for a few seconds and almost feel a bit of pity towards him. He's so young and looks out of place in his black tuxedo. But I quickly put him out of my mind, knowing he won't make it long in the games. It's not worth wasting my time and energy being concerned for him maybe making it a day or two into the games.

Well, at least I will prove better than Lance in the end. Once the games actually start tomorrow I will be able to show the Capitol that I am better at fighting than he is. And I will make sure I get the most kills in the bloodbath, also to prove that I should have a higher score than Lorelei. In the end, it doesn't matter if you can flatter the host and get the crowd to laugh. What will matter is being able to kill and stay alive. And I am going to do both.

My anger at Lance's interview is starting to fade and be replaced by my own determination to prove myself as the boy starts walking back to his seat. That's when I start to pay attention to Claudia once more, wanting to listen to the interviews for my two allies from Four. Claudia is still smiling as she continues on, not bothered that she still has many tributes left to interview. "Now that we are done with District Three, we get to hear from the tributes of District Four. Up next is the girl we heard so much about earlier from Ryoko," she jokes with the crowd and I smile a little at her calling about his talkativeness. "Please welcome Anabel Rhetter!"

The small girl walks past me and I can see on her face that she's very nervous about this. But there's also a confidence in her that has been brought out in the past few days of training. The girl I met the night of the chariot rides would have been a lot more terrified about this. I take a moment to notice the dress her stylist created for her and think she nailed the look of the sea. The way the fabric fades halfway down from silver to blue makes her look as if she just walked out of the ocean. And it even makes her look a little older. I glance out at the stylists and can spot her stylist immediately from the proud look on her face. And she has every right to be proud of her work.

Anabel sits next to Claudia and the hosts seems to notice the young girl's nervousness right away. "Welcome, Anabel," she says gently and thinks for a couple seconds, probably changing her initial plan of questions to ask. "So tell me a little about what your life is like back in District Four."

It's a tactic I've seen Claudia do numerous times over the years with tributes her are afraid of the crowd. Ask them about their home life or something else familiar and they start opening up right away. And Anabel starts looking happier at this question and I know it worked. "My family is just my parents, my older brother Rickard, and myself. We live right by the sea," she says and looks wistful as she recalls memories before continuing. "I think while growing up I spent more time in the water than I did on land!"

A smile from Claudia at this statement gets Anabel to start smiling and I know the host will have her comfortable by the end of the interview. "Then we should hope that there's lots of water in the arena for you!" This statement gets Anabel to laugh and the crowd seems to be falling in love with her. "So did you ever do any training in Four?" Claudia asks after a few seconds, probably hoping that there will be at least a few trained tributes from the normal career Districts this year.

Anabel shakes her head at this but still gives Claudia a small smile. "No, I never really wanted to. It just never was something I thought about." She pauses for a moment before continuing, looking like she might start laughing at something. "But I was always content to watch Rickard and Ardos train together."

"Are those two friends?" Claudia asks her curiously and I find myself starting to grow a little bored with Anabel's interview since she isn't providing any new or exciting information that I didn't already know about her. But I still pay attention since the crowd knows we're allies and I don't want them to know the extent of how little desire I have to her being in the alliance. I suppose I don't mind as much now as I did at the beginning now that she has shown she has the capability to learn how to fight. Yet I still worry that she's going to be a hindrance.

Anabel laughs at this question and I can see the crowd is enjoying her interview. I don't know how she is doing it without even any training. "They're not friends, they are practically brothers! In fact, I even view Ardos as a brother."

Claudia continues as the cameras briefly show Ardos smiling at Anabel but I find myself being annoyed at the fact that they practically view each other as siblings. They are going to be such a liability in the games tomorrow and I better not get injured because of their protectiveness. "Is that why he was so protective at the Reaping? I've been wondering about his reaction ever since then."

Great, even Claudia has to bring up the protectiveness. Maybe it will get sponsors to not want to support Ardos because they'll be worried he'll do something stupid to keep Anabel safe. "Yes, that is why," Anabel sighs at this and I can hear the sadness in her voice as she continues, "And that makes being in the games even harder. It's one thing to be fighting against complete strangers. But being there with someone you've known your whole life?" I try to imagine what that would be like but the only people that come to mind are the ones I've been training with for years and being in the games with them sounds pretty ideal right now.

But Claudia seems to be feeling pity towards Anabel at this and smiles sadly at her. "I can only imagine how hard that is for you." The buzzer then goes off and Claudia acknowledges the young girl. "Thank you, Anabel, for joining us tonight." As she makes her way back over to her seat, the crowd is actually cheering loudly for a girl with no training. I don't understand what is appealing to her but start thinking about her from their perspective as Claudia brings up Ardos. "Now let's hear from her District partner and close friend, Ardos Vittomere!"

Well, Anabel is from District Four. I watch Ardos walk by, looking put together and older in his navy blue suit. Yes, the Capitol always loves tributes from District Four. Apparently that also applies to untrained tributes. She also gave them more information on Ardos who is clearly the more trained of the two. So maybe the crowd liked that?

Ardos is waving to the crowd as he sits down with Claudia who starts the interview right away. "Welcome, Ardos. Now that has to be tough, being here with Anabel."

I almost roll my eyes at her immediately talking about it. "It is," he answers her quietly and I feel a little bad that his interview will probably be entirely about Anabel. "She is the little sister that I never actually had."

Claudia is hooked onto this topic and continues on as I'm still confused about the appeal of Ardos being willing to throw his life away for Anabel. "So how did you meet her?"

"Well we're actually neighbors," Ardos says as I look out at the crowd and notice that almost everyone is paying attention to him. Do they really like this story about someone being so willing to protect someone else? "I've known Rickard from a young age so I guess I met her when she was a baby," Ardos continues and I notice that he's giving relatively short answers without very many details. Maybe he's trying to go for the mysterious career route. Too bad Anabel ruined that for him.

I watch Claudia's face as she thinks about what else to bring up to him. "Anabel had mentioned that you and her brother trained together." Oh if only she could have just kept asking about Anabel. I would have been content to see her ignore the fact that he can fight.

"We sure did," he answers and starts to sound confident about this interview. "And we sure did cause trouble in training."

Claudia looks thrilled at his answer and keeps asking him about it as I start wishing his time would end already. I don't need him to be a threat to me in addition to Lance and Lorelei. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Ardos gives a short laugh at this and I know he sounds like a confident career. Great, they're going to like him even more. "Probably both. We were definitely the best of the boys our age and thought that meant we could mess around and cause trouble." He gives a casual shrug at this and I shake my head a little, knowing that Kat would have kicked them out the second they started to cause trouble. "But the trainers liked us and I always thought it would be a struggle for them to decide on just one of us to volunteer when we were 18."

Claudia is silent for a few seconds as she thinks of a response and I continue trying to figure out what his appeal is to the Capitol crowd. Is it because there will be drama when one of them dies in the games? "I suppose they won't have that hard decision anymore. Instead, you could be his mentor when he volunteers."

Ardos laughs at this suggestion and I also want to do that because I won't let him have that opportunity because I will win. "Now that would be interesting. The other tributes wouldn't have a clue what hit them."

The crowd laughs at this statement and I start scowling a little at his success. I really don't need him taking away sponsors from me. Yet Claudia continues on, "Now I have time for on last question." She pauses dramatically before asking him the final question. "Clearly being here with Anabel is difficult. What did you say to Rickard before you left Four?"

I think I can hear my own heartbeat in the silence that fills the City Circle as they all wait for Ardos to give his answer to the question. He gives a small sigh before telling everyone, "I promised him that I would protect her."

The City Circle is still silent as the buzzer sounds and I'm astonished that he had such a huge effect on the crowd. "Thank you, Ardos," Claudia says and the crowd starts to respond to his interview. "Let's hear it for Ardos!" The cheers are loud as he returns to his seat, almost as loud as they were for me and Lance. When he reaches his seat and Anabel takes his hand, that's when it finally clicks and I understand why the crowd loves him. He's a hero who is willing to sacrifice his life for the younger girl.

I guess that makes me the villain in this story. But I'm happy with that because I like living and won't give up my life for someone else in the arena.

I make eye contact with Darach as Claudia tries to get the crowd to quiet down. He gives me a shrug and mouths words to me. "You'll be fine."

I nod my head at him, trusting his judgement as I pay attention to Claudia. This time tomorrow, it won't matter what the crowd thought of Ardos and Anabel because I'll have shown them how I can fight. "Next up we are moving to District Five! And first is Dahlia Kane!" The girl quickly gets up and walks past me, giggling and waving at the crowd as she approaches the host. Alright, now I really want to roll my eyes. "Welcome, Dahlia," Claudia says as the girl sits down all proper and is grinning.

"Thank you!" Dahlia says instantly and then starts gushing about the Capitol, clearly going for flattery in an attempt to win sponsors. "Oh I have just been loving the hospitality of the Capitol! Everyone has been so nice to me since I've arrived so I just want to say thank you to everyone."

From watching Claudia interview eight people so far, I can tell that her current smile is a little fake as she tries to deal with the girl. Well at least I don't have to worry about this one being a threat to me. "Well we always look forward to welcoming the tributes each year. What has been your favorite part of the Capitol?"

"I would have to say the tribute parade," she answers right away and keeps giving the crowd a dazzling smile. "Having a theme this year was just amazing and my outfit was just as awesome. That lightning bolt? Crazy."

I find myself a little jealous that she did have a cool outfit for the tribute parade but it quickly disappears when I recall how that armor fit me. Claudia continues to play the ever attentive host. "Now you didn't get shocked at all?"

"Nothing," Dahlia says with a shake of her head. "My stylist somehow created an object that looks like lightning."

"That is impressive. In fact, all of the stylists have created stunning pieces this year," Claudia pauses as the crowd cheers a little and I find myself simply growing bored with all this talk about this outfits. "Now are the capes on the dresses another theme?" She asks and looks up at the Gamesmakers. Lisia gives a nod in confirmation, something I already knew from Serena. Claudia looks pleased at this answer from the Head Gamemaker as she turns back to Dahlia. "Brilliant. Just brilliant."

"I think we need to give the stylists a round of applause for their work," Dahlia says and I lean back in my chair, waiting for her interview to start getting interesting. "And also Lisia for the amazing theme."

"I agree," Claudia says and they both start clapping, quickly followed by the crowd. The stylists all give some form of acknowledgement and I watch Serena stay conservative and simply give her head a nod.

I turn my attention back to Dahlia and finally take a moment to really look at her dress since she keeps on insisting on talking about fashion. It's actually rather plain compared to some of the others and if it didn't have the small amount of lace across the top of her chest and shoulders, the gray dress would be very boring. At least my dress makes a bold statement with its color, making up for the lack of details on it. "See I appreciate the outfits so much because my parents own the fabric shop back in Five." Wow, how is this girl still talking about this? "When I was little, I used to wrap myself in fabric and pretend to be wearing Capitol gowns!"

"And now look at you!" Claudia says with probably faked excitement and gestures at Dahlia's dress. "Actually wearing a Capitol gown!"

The crowd laughs a little as Dahlia continues talking about the dresses and I just have to tone her out. I guess years of being around guys in training have made me unable to talk about fashion for more than a couple seconds at a time.

I do pay attention again when Claudia mentions allies. "And what about in the arena? Will you have allies or will you be alone?"

"Of course I have allies," Dahlia answers immediately, something I already knew from watching her in training. It was one of the reasons I actually wanted to pay attention to her but clearly she isn't going to be a concern in the arena. "It would be silly to go into the arena without any allies."

The buzzer sounds and I am so relieved that Dahlia will be done talking. Claudia chuckles a little before addressing the crowd as Dahlia returns to her seat. Well I guess we will just have to wait anxiously to find out who Dahlia's allies are. Next from District Five is Brody Torran!"

The boy walks past and looks absolutely miserable about having to give an interview right now. I shake my head a little at this, knowing I'm going to have to sit through another seemingly long interview. But he's an older tribute and I need to watch him to determine just how much of a threat he will be.

Claudia smiles welcomingly at him as he sits down, crossing his arms as he leans back in the chair. "Alright Brody, so you seem to be a strong young man. That 7 you earned in training was very impressive. How did you manage?"

He stares at her and doesn't show any emotion other than boredom as he gives her a quick response. "I'm used to working hard to help out my family. This is just a different way of doing that."

I can't tell if Claudia is put off by his short response. If she is, she hides it well and continues smiling and asking him questions. "Do you have any siblings?"

"Two brothers," Brody answers in return and Claudia stares at him expectantly for a few seconds, hoping he will say more about them. But he remains silent about it.

"So you're a family man too. I think you just increased the number of female admirers you have here," she tries to joke around and receives no reaction from him. She continues on, starting to look a little desperate about making this interview go better. Meanwhile, I see the tactic he's using and while he's being a little too angry about the games, some people will like the fact that he isn't giving out a lot of information. "In fact, I think I saw someone faint from swooning over you."

This gets a response from him but it was clearly not what Claudia wanted. "I don't understand why someone is admiring me being willing to kill in order to support my brothers."

Claudia gives him a strained smile for a few seconds and the awkwardness of this interview is almost palpable. I look out at Darach and see him shaking his head at Brody's attitude. Honestly, this is not the way to win over sponsors or the favor of the Gamemakers. "… Right," Claudia finally says and tries to save this train wreck. "So do you have any allies?"

"Yes," Brody answers briefly before staying silent as Claudia once again stares at him in hope that he will continue talking.

She eventually waves her hand at him, trying to prompt him to actually give her something to work with. "Can you tell us who you are allies with? Or is that too many words for you?"

Brody seems to ignore the small insult she gave him that caused a few people in the crowd to laugh at. "Aislinn." Yes, this is information that I already knew from training. I thought the pair were going to be a threat but not at the rate that Brody is losing sponsors right now.

Claudia is still struggling with this interview and leans back in her chair as she stares at the boy, contempt in her eyes for making her look bad in front of Panem. Yet she continues smiling and asks another question. "Do you feel prepared for the games?"

Unsurprisingly, Brody gives another short answer. "Yes."

Claudia lets out a sigh as she stares at him for a few seconds and I start to feel bad for her. There's only so much she can do when the tribute won't cooperate with her questions. But the buzzer soon sounds before she has to ask another question and I can see on her face that she's happy about this. "Well, thank you, Brody," she says half-heartedly as the crowd gives obligatory applause to him but compared to the roar of cheers that I earned, this is more like a whisper. She takes a couple seconds to compose herself before returning to being a cheerful host. "Alright, our next two tributes are from District Six. Please welcome Jessie Callahand!"

The crowd seems happy about this but I'm sure they would have been happy with anyone being interviewed after Brody's terrible interview. The girl makes her way down to Claudia, her tan dress sparkling in the lights from all of the crystals placed on the top half of it. She looks relatively relaxed as she sits down with the host and I can't blame her, she could be stuttering the whole time and still look better than Brody. Claudia gives her a smile and I pay attention as she starts the interview since Jessie is in an alliance of three. "So Jessie, is it true that people might have already been impacted by your work in District Six without knowing it was you?"

I'm perplexed by this question but Jessie seems to know what Claudia is talking about and looks quite thrilled to be asked about it. "That is correct. I've been working for the past year with some of the top designers in Six to improve varying modes of transportation from trains to simple things you use here."

Claudia turns to the crowd who is watching Jessie curiously. "How many people here have used the Connex Motorbike? Raise your hands," Claudia asks and quite a few people raise their hands in answer to the question. She turns back to Jessie who looks proud at the amount of people with hands raised. "That was all Jessie's design."

Many in the crowd start applauding her and I even find myself impressed. Jessie waves her hand to get them to stop but is still grinning at the praise. "Oh stop, it was nothing."

"But it wasn't nothing," Claudia counters right away, also looking impressed that Jessie has designed things. "How many sixteen-year-olds can claim they have designed something that has had a big impact on the people of the Capitol?"

Jessie thinks about this for a few seconds, "Oh I would guess probably every tribute in District Three." The two of them laugh a little at this, the crowd joining in before Jessie continues. "But I didn't do it for the glory. I did it because I have a passion for the research and design and want to see transportation continue to improve. Not just here in the Capitol, but also in all eleven Districts."

"Well clearly you have a brilliant mind and I'm looking forward to seeing how you outsmart some of the others in the arena," Claudia mentions and I find myself disagreeing with her because I don't want to be at the end of a genius's trap. "So will you be outsmarting people with allies?"

Jessie lets out a small laugh before answering," Yes and I can answer your question about who Dahlia is allied with: myself and Keenan."

"Oh I'm so glad we don't have to wait any longer!" Claudia feigns being distraught about not knowing as she turns to the crowd to address them. "Were you just as anxious as I was?" The crowd is shouting in agreement as she returns her attention to Jessie who is chuckling at the crowd's reaction. Her time ends and Claudia gives the crowd a shrug as she smiles out at them. "Well we will have to find out more about your alliance from Keenan. Thank you, Jessie!"

The girl returns to her seat and I tune out her District partner since he's just a twelve-year-old that probably won't make it past the bloodbath tomorrow. Jessie doesn't seem like she will be a threat in the arena but for now, she probably got a few sponsors from the recognition of her design. But that won't matter soon.

So who else has actually given a good interview so far that shows they're ready for the games? Only really Lorelei and Lance. And once the games start, they'll realize Lance wasn't as prepared as he made it seem. So as long as I watch out for those two, I shouldn't have a problem in the games.

They might as well give me the title of victor now.

I'm smirking as the boy's interview ends but it quickly goes away when I realize who is next. Claudia doesn't seem bothered that she still has to keep interviewing people but I wish she would stop. "Alright, we are continuing on with the interviews and next up is District Seven. Our first tribute is Caitlin Desmond!"

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 **If you want more information about the stories, please go to my website at** **thefifthquarterquell . weebly .com** **! It is now updated through Chapter 9!**


	10. Interviews Part 2

**Welcome to the 125th Hunger Games!**

 **Just a few things before the story begins. A reminder that this is one story out of two that are taking place during the same time. So if you are reading this story first and plan on reading the other, you may want to read the same chapter from the other in order to avoid spoilers to the character.**

 **I will update the stories on the same day, that way once the games start you can choose which story to read first as there will be some spoilers about what might happen to the other character.**

 **I'll let you begin the story. As always, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. Any comments are good comments.**

 **Let the Games begin!**

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 **Chapter 10:**

I almost let my face show a grimace as Caitlin makes her way to Claudia, putting off an air of confidence that the crowd responds well too. Or maybe they're responding to her low-cut silver dress. Yes, that makes more sense than them actually liking a girl from Seven.

She's all smiles as she approaches Claudia and I feel myself growing annoyed with her interview already and it hasn't even started. This girl is one of the main reasons for my problems going into the games and I want to make sure I get payback for it. Lance better hope I don't get near her in the bloodbath.

When Claudia stands up to look closer at Caitlin's dress, I do start scowling a bit. She didn't say anything about my dress and personally I think mine is better and more sophisticated looking. "Wow, that dress you are wearing tonight is amazing," Claudia gushes and I almost roll my eyes before reminding myself that I am still on stage and people can watch me.

As Caitlin looks surprised at what Claudia said, I start imaging plans for how to deal with her in the games. I should just get rid of her tomorrow and stop Lance from ever leaving the alliance to go team up with her instead. She is quick to respond, something I didn't expect from her. "I was a little unsure about the thigh slit and thought the neckline was a little risqué but I definitely like it."

Well that makes two whole people who like the dress. I spare a glance at Lance and can see he is watching her intently. Make that three people. "Oh well I love it," Claudia reassures Caitlin about her dress. "No need to worry about being risqué here in the Capitol," she continues and the crowd chuckles in response. Claudia stares at Caitlin's dress for a few seconds and I wonder if maybe I should wait to kill her. "Can you give us all a quick twirl?" Claudia asks, sounding less like a host and more like a typical Capitol person.

Caitlin looks a little unsure about this request before agreeing to it, clearly trained well by her mentor. Which is surprising since her mentor only won last year. It's a pity she did as Brycen and Elesa were both well trained and should have won. Oh well, District Two will get their victor this year. "Of course," Caitlin answers and smiles at the host before obliging with her request, taking a few steps forward before giving a twirl. Her dress flows around her and I roll my eyes at the crowd cheering for her. But they're not really cheering for her, they're cheering for her stylist.

Claudia claps for a couple seconds as Caitlin finishes twirling, her auburn hair falling in waves around her shoulders as she looks unsure about this but continues smiling. I feel a brief pang of jealousy that the crowd likes her for her looks, something I've never had happen to me. But I sit up a little taller as I remind myself that no one else here has my training. Beauty won't get you to actually win the games. Only your own strength can do that. And I'm going to use my strength to give the Capitol a fantastic show.

Claudia finally gets Caitlin to sit down, the host still going on about the dress that isn't even that spectacular. "Thank you for appeasing me and my fashion obsessed heart. I must talk to your stylist after this." I spare a look at the stylists, not finding it hard to figure out which one is hers. The guy looks as if he's about to faint from the attention and I find myself not understanding the people in the Capitol as Claudia continues. "Now back to the games. I talked to one of your allies earlier, Phoebe," Claudia says as I look over at Darach who is watching me. I raise an eyebrow at this, momentarily blocking out Claudia as I question why my mentor is staring at me. He raises an eyebrow at me in return and taps his face with a finger, silently reminding me that I need to watch my expressions. This makes me briefly start scowling before he shakes his head at me, an exasperated look on his face. But he's grinning a little at me and I almost chuckle at the great relationship I have with my mentor. I couldn't imagine being in the games with a victor I barely knew.

"I did," Caitlin gives in answer to whatever Claudia had just asked and I return my gaze to the girl, mindful to keep my face blank. "I knew I would need the help of allies once I got in the arena, just like a lot of the other people before me have mentioned," she continues and I almost roll my eyes at her mentioning allies because no one else knows that she has a secret ally. But I suppose that will cause things to be more interesting to the Capitol. "The games are very risky and these two help balance out my weaknesses so I think we make a great team."

I'm considering if Caitlin had even told the other two girls about Lance as Claudia continues on, looking happy about the interview. "Well you did earn the highest score out of your alliance. A 7, no less. Clearly you don't have too many weaknesses if you did that well." Ugh, she even scored well too. I hadn't known what her score was as I had stormed off before District Seven's scores were announced last night. This just makes her even more of a threat to me.

"Oh I do," she answers and I raise an eyebrow at her admitting to weakness. It's either an extremely dumb or extremely strategic move. If I'm lucky, it's the former. "You see," she starts and I can tell by her tone that it's going to be the second option. "One of them is that I don't like seafood. If we're in an arena surrounded by the ocean, well, clearly that will be a weakness."

The crowd's laughter at this statement has my anger rising that she is doing well. Is it too much to ask for her to do poorly so that it will hurt Lance later on when he betrays me? And Claudia goes right along with it, pretending to be offended by her statement. "You don't like seafood? That's it, you just lost every sponsor that likes the District Four tributes!"

This statement is absurd because I doubt any sponsor would go from supporting District Four to District Seven, even if there aren't volunteers this year. Caitlin surely realizes this too but laughs it off, and even gives Claudia's arm a nudge. Her casualness continues to irk me as she gives a witty response, "I don't think I ever had them seeing as I'm not from Four. But I can surely win over someone who appreciates a good mahogany dining table!"

Yes, a dining table is really going to help her in the games. But the crowd doesn't seem to care as they laugh at this and Claudia is among them before trying to calm them down. "Alright, alright, we can talk about lobster and furniture later. Let's get back to talking about the games," Claudia waits for the crowd to become completely quiet and I find myself wishing they would keep talking about useless things. It will make the Capitol crowd less likely to think she has a chance and that means more sponsors for me. "Now we were talking about your alliance and your score. So earlier Phoebe had mentioned that she had help in training from her allies. Is it safe to say that you were the one who helped her?"

I wish the answer would be no but I know from watching everyone in training that she was in fact the most skilled out of her alliance. And she nods her head, looking happy about it. "Yes I did. Mostly I showed her how to use an axe because it's basically second nature to know how to use one in Seven. I've put some hours into the forest so I know how to use it pretty well."

"That certainly gives you an advantage over some of the others," Claudia mentions and I know she's right, but only when compared to the outer Districts. Her little knowledge of using an axe can't compare to the hours I've spent in training learning various weapons to kill, not just for work.

"It's an advantage that I have every intention of using tomorrow when the games start," Caitlin answers with confidence and I make a mental note to myself to hide any axe if I pass by it when grabbing spears tomorrow at the start of the games. I don't want to give her any opportunity to excel.

Claudia gets a grin on her face at this statement. "Oh you have a fire in you to win," she mentions and Caitlin smirks a little, much to my annoyance. "Reminds me of last year when we saw your mentor win. I like it."

I glance out at the mentors, my eyes falling on last year's victor. She's watching Caitlin intently, pride on her face at her tribute. She appears so naïve compared to some of the older victors from outer Districts and I know that won't last past seeing her first tribute die in the games. "She did teach me well," Caitlin responds and her mentor smiles proudly at this. She's trying so hard with her very first tribute that I almost start to feel bad for her, especially after learning how Darach feels about tributes he's lost. But I suppress the feelings, knowing I can deal with it once the games are done and I'm alive. I turn my attention away from the mentors, not wanting to be distracted by the victors and the thought of someday being up there. "You can't beat the advice from someone who was just in the games because the memories are still fresh about what you need to do to survive," Caitlin pauses and smiles out at her mentor before returning her attention to Claudia. "But I have plenty of reasons to fight and win, not just the help of my mentor. Most of it is my own determination and I can promise you that I'll be one to watch out for in the games."

I have to admit, she does have a determination in her to get through the games and I start imagining what she would have been like if she was from a District that trained. I wouldn't be surprised if she was similar to me. Claudia continues on, still looking happy about how the interview is going. "I could keep asking you questions all night, you're so delightful to talk to," she pauses and the time runs out, much to my delight. Caitlin has been doing too well. "Ah, but we are out of time. I will be sure to watch you in the arena. Give a round of applause for Caitlin!" The girl stands up, a huge grin on her face as the crowd cheers loudly for her. Too loud for a District Seven girl. I watch her walk back across the stage, very aware that she can pose a huge threat to my victory. She walks effortlessly in her heels, her dress flowing behind her. At the top of the stairs, I watch as she glances down at me, looking pleased. I realize she is looking at Lance as a faint blush forms on her cheeks as she sits down. I raise an eyebrow at this as I glance out at the crowd, amazed that they would risk showing even the faintest hint of having something going on with them on the stage, especially when everyone is still watching her. It's risky but if it exposes Lance, I don't mind.

Claudia brings out Caitlin's District partner, a young boy, and I turn my attention away from him. He probably won't last long in the games and isn't worth the effort right now. Instead, I start thinking about how I'm going to deal with Caitlin. It's clear that the Capitol does like her. Not as much as me, but definitely more than a typical District Seven tribute. That means that she will probably get some sponsors. That wouldn't be a huge deal since items cost so much but I'm more concerned about her getting a gift that also benefits Lance. So do I try to take her out tomorrow in the bloodbath and avoid that?

No, I can't waste the time trying to kill one girl. I must get the most kills tomorrow when the games start to prove that the score I got is not accurate of my abilities. I suppose I will have to let her life. Maybe that's for the best as Lance would surely get very angry with me and that's a confrontation I would like to avoid until later one.

But leaving her alive in the bloodbath means letting Lance betray me later on. Although, will it really be a betrayal if I know he's going to leave? And Lance betraying the alliance will keep the Capitol watching me so that they can see how I will react. I'll have to make an effort to find him, or at least pretend to be looking for him. It will be interesting for the Capitol to watch, and that's all that matters. And Caitlin won't be a concern in the games. She might win some sponsors now but she won't be able to fight against me. She might be able to take on a weak outer District tribute or someone older with her allies. But a trained tribute like me? No way.

I turn my attention back to the interviews as the buzzer sounds for the boy from Seven, feeling a bit better now that I have a plan for what to do about Caitlin tomorrow. Yet as Claudia calls up the girl from Eight, I still feel a bit unsure in my stomach for some unknown reason. I don't understand what it is that I'm feeling, but it is weird and I don't know why it's there as I think about the games starting in less than 24 hours. I don't understand where this feeling is coming from and I look out at Darach, not sure what I'm feeling. It takes a few seconds for him to look at me and almost immediately he realizes something is wrong and starts frowning. He mouths words to me and I take comfort in them. 'We'll talk later.'

Yet as I wait for the girl from Eight to finish her interview, I start feeling doubts. Caitlin's interview and the crowd cheering for her keeps popping up in my mind, a constant reminder that I don't have full control over my alliance. I think back to the first day on the train ride to the Capitol and I realize that I never should have thought that I had control over the alliance. From the very first conversation with Lance, it should have been obvious to me that Lance would never have gone along with my plans, regardless if he ever met Caitlin. He is related to a victor, one who fought hard for him. Of course he will do everything to get back home to Two.

The timer brings me out of my thoughts and I watch the girl from Eight return to her seat. I keep my attention on Claudia, wanting to get rid of this feeling and return to the confidence I felt after my interview. But I also want to watch the next interview as the boy is in one of the alliances of three. And being 16, he is one I need to watch in the arena because I refuse to underestimate someone. I've seen that get tributes killed and I won't let that happen to me.

"Up next is Keenan Woodard!" Claudia says excitedly and the crowd claps as the boy makes his way to the center of the stage. He tries to give a casual smile but I can tell he is nervous about this interview. His gold suit is shining brightly in the lights as he shakes Claudia's hand and she motions for him to sit down. "Alright Keenan, we'll start out with an easy question. Can you tell us what life is like for you in District Eight?"

What a boring question. I would have been angry to get asked that if I was in his shoes. And it's such a typical question for Claudia to ask tributes so it's not even going to end up being memorable. "It's different than most people, that's for sure," he begins and chuckles at this, and I raise an eyebrow, curious to see how he might actually be remembered. "I actually live with my best friend Morin and his family."

Claudia also looks intrigued by this and presses on, eager to give us all more information about Keenan. "And why is that?"

Keenan's face shows a brief moment of sadness before he answers, trying to keep his spirits light. Surprisingly, he knows that being sad for the entire interview won't get you very many sponsors. "Well my parents died in a factory accident when I was seven," he pauses as he collects his thoughts and I try to imagine not having my parents. Sure my dad isn't around often but I couldn't live without my mother. "I spent a few weeks at the Community Center and I was so miserable and lonely there. I had known Morin for most of my life at that point so it didn't take long for him to convince his parents to adopt me into his family. Once I was in their home, I never looked back to the few weeks in the Center."

"That was very kind of his parents," Claudia says with a sad smile on her face. Is she really getting emotional about this? Yeah it's sad he lost his parents but it's not the first time we've seen a tribute with one or two dead parents. In fact, there's at least one most years. But I'm sure there are people out in the crowd who will take pity on him and sponsor him. Just not very many people since he hasn't even shown yet if he can fight. "Clearly they care a lot about you if they were willing to adopt you. So what did they think about you being chosen?"

He takes his time to respond and I know his cautiousness will help him get far in the games. Just another thing I need to watch out for tomorrow. "They were upset, of course. Eva thinks I've already suffered enough in life and now I have to go through this…" He momentarily falls quiet, his face full of emotions as he considers his spot in the games. "Well, it sure is a terrible position to be in, fighting for your life against 21 other tributes. But I want to win for them. They've taken care of me for years and if I win, I would be able to repay them for their love and care."

"And do you think you have a good chance of winning?" Claudia asks curiously as she leans back in her chair, resting her elbow on the armrest as she watches Keenan.

"Definitely," he answers almost a little too quickly. It's clear to me that he wants to look confident for the Capitol but is struggling to do so. Almost like me… "I earned a 7 in training. I know how to fight. My allies and I work together very well." He gives her a grin before continuing, "I think I have a great shot at winning these games."

I almost roll my eyes at this because if he has a great shot at winning, I must have a phenomenal shot at winning. Claudia nods her head at this. "Now we're almost out of time but what should we expect to see from you when the games start tomorrow morning?"

Keenan sits up a little taller at this statement, trying to appear stronger. "You're going to see someone who is determined to fight and win. I will make sure-"

The buzzer cuts him off and Claudia smiles apologetically at him. "I am very sorry but I have to cut you off, Keenan. Rules are rules and if we go over the three minutes, well, they might just cut me out of job!" The crowd laughs at this and she grins out at them. "Thank you Keenan!" The boy stands and waves, trying to look happy. But as he walks back to his seat, I watch his face closely and can see the inner turmoil. Well, at least I'm not the only one feeling unsure about the games tomorrow. Except I should be the one feeling the most confident. "Alright, alright, everyone quiet down, I'm sure I will keep my job," Claudia jokes around with the quieting crowd before continuing. "Next we are moving on to District Nine. First up is Aislinn Rae!"

The older girl from Nine carefully makes her way down to the stage, face apprehensive as she approaches Claudia. "Hello, Aislinn," Claudia begins as the girl sits down. "Oh and yet another stunning dress. The stylists have really outdone themselves this year." As she turns to address the crowd, I look over her dress and find myself jealous of the forest green color as I always looked good in green. But I'm not jealous of that plunging neckline because I would be afraid of moving. "Ladies, I guarantee capes are going to be all the rage soon." She returns her attention back to Aislinn as she laughs a little. "Especially when they're on dresses that flattering. Wait, are those pants on the bottom?"

Aislinn laughs about this and kicks out a leg a little, showing the crowd that she is in fact wearing pants. Now I'm jealous about her dress. Pants would be so nice right now because I hate keeping my legs crossed like I have to in my gown. "It sure is. My stylist managed to make an outfit that makes a statement and is easy to maneuver in."

"Brilliant, just brilliant," Claudia praises the smile before focusing on the interview. "Now aside from having a great stylist, how do you feel about the games?"

Aislinn's smile falters slightly at this and she hesitates for a brief moment before answering the host. "I'm a little nervous about it."

Claudia notices the hesitation, just like always she notices everything about the tributes she interviews. She jumps in right away, wanting to get an explanation. "And why is that?"

"Well which tribute here isn't afraid of dying?" She retorts and gives out a nervous chuckle. "I can hope all I want that I will be victor but the reality of the games is that 21 of us will die in the next few weeks." She falls silent and stares at the host for a few seconds, face blank of emotions. "That's not exactly great odds."

"But they are odds that work in someone's favor each year," Claudia counters and I find myself agreeing with her. Yes, the odds are terrible for the tributes who are untrained or weak. But for me, the odds are much better.

"Yes, 'may the odds be ever in your favor'," Aislinn wearily says in response to Claudia's statement. The usually cheerful statement has turned ominous by Aislinn. "Let's hope they are in my favor tomorrow."

Claudia seems to have lost track of where she wanted to go in the interview after Aislinn's somber tone about the odds of the game. Yet she quickly recovers, reminding me that she really is the best person to handle interviewing the tributes. I doubt Elliot could interview 22 people and handle depressing topics or brash tributes. "Now for tomorrow, we learned earlier that you will be allies with Brody. Well, we heard very little from him as he decided to be very short on words tonight. Quiet mysterious," Claudia breaks to return her thoughts back to Aislinn. "Now I'm nosy and like to know details about allies before the games start," she laughs a little at this and some in the crowd shout in agreement. Yes, the host can be quite nosy about details but at least she goes about getting the information in a respectful way. "So can you give us some more information about your alliance?"

Aislinn takes a few moments to think about her alliance and I also think back to the three days of training where I watched them. Both 17 and larger than most of the tributes, they present a real risk tomorrow as they can surely best one of my lesser trained allies if my allies ran into them alone. "I think we're a tough pair," Aislinn finally begins, starting to gain some confidence as she considers her alliance. "We can pose a real threat together and in the arena, anyone thinking about challenging us should be afraid."

I smirk a little at this because I'm not afraid of them. Sure, they can team up together to take on tributes. But in a fight one-on-one? There's a clear winner every time and it's neither of them. Claudia doesn't seem to realize this or perhaps she just must keep neutral about who she thinks will win during the interviews. "Bold and confident, I love it! Just keep up that confidence and you will have no reason to be right about the games tomorrow!"

Unsurprisingly, Aislinn seems skeptical about this but still gives Claudia a half smile. "Well I sure hope you're right about that…" she trails off and there is silence between the two for a few seconds before the buzzer sounds loudly, amplified in the silence of the interview. The crowd starts to applaud her as Claudia smiles appreciatively at her. "Well thank you Aislinn for your time. You can go ahead and return to your seat." Claudia waits for the girl to return to our raised platform before continuing with the interviews but I relax and take my attention away as she calls up the 13-year-old from Nine. He's not worth the time to watch when he poses absolutely no competition.

So the other tributes I was concerned with because of their alliances didn't do fantastic in their interviews. I guess Caitlin was just the odd outer District tribute who managed to shine. It does happen every year, there's one or two in the bunch that does well. It's just unfortunate that this year it's the one who is causing me trouble. But so what? She'll get a few sponsors now but the number she gets won't even be close to the amount I get as being the most trained, the selected volunteer, and the granddaughter of District Two's oldest living victor. And the fact that they always love the tributes from Two more than any other. I'm the best option they have for a tribute that is going to give them the show they want. And what they want isn't a romance. They want blood. And I'll give them blood.

The crowds light applause momentarily brings me back to the interviews and I pay attention long enough to see that one of Caitlin's allies is up next. I should care about watching her but I'm honesty not worried about Caitlin's allies. They aren't a concern to my alliance splitting up.

I still don't know how I'm going to handle that happening, hopefully not when Lance leaves. I'll probably have to act shocked and upset that Lance left, anything to make them believe I didn't know he was going to do that from the start. I think Lorelei and Ryoko will believe me. Lorelei never wanted Lance in the alliance and Ryoko will do anything Lorelei wants so they will probably be happy when Lance leaves. But the pair from Four, well, Ardos seems to like Lance. He might end up being upset at Lance leaving our alliance. Hopefully not to the point that he wants to leave with Anabel. But he's smart and should realize how dangerous it would be for him and Anabel to go off on their own. It will come down to how well I can act.

Maybe the training center should start offer acting classes. After teaching us how to kill someone the victors can then teach us how to be a fake ally. It would be amusing to watch Darach try to teach us acting.

This thought has me smiling slightly before once again the crowd starts clapping and I turn my attention towards the girl from Ten as she walks back to her seat. My smile quickly disappears as Claudia waits for the crowd to die down to call up the next tribute. I know he's going to stir up drama and I sit up and cross my arms before putting a scowl on my face to hopefully give myself the appearance of being tough and indifferent to anything he has to say.

"And now we have Cyrus Lucreta from District Ten!" Claudia says before the crowd responds loudly. I watch Cyrus closely as he makes his way to the host, hands tucked in the pockets of his white suit and a scowl on his face. I notice little bits of pink on his suit and I take some solace in knowing that the color makes him look slightly less tough. But he's still menacing looking and Claudia seems to notice this. "So Cyrus, oh, you seem like a big strong guy. And you're one of the oldest tributes. So how are you feeling about the games?"

Cyrus gives a nonchalant shrug to this as he leans back in his seat, crossing his arms before answering her. "I know I'm going to win these things. I'm strong and I have the score to back it up."

He's so cocky about his own strength and I don't understand why. If he had trained then sure, he can be confident. But the lack of training just makes him seem arrogant. Well, at least that's how I view it. Claudia seems intrigued by him. "Yes, the 8 you earned in training was rather impressive, especially for a tribute from District Ten. Now in the arena, will you have any allies to help you out?"

Cyrus scoffs at this question and I just know he's going to be very open about his answer. "No, I don't have any allies. The tributes I wanted to join me would rather waste their time with little kids so whatever. They can babysit while I win these games."

The way he phrased it as if we wanted to join him irks me but I don't let my anger show. Instead, I allow a smirk to form on my face so that I appear happy that I'm not in his alliance. Claudia is watching him intently, aware that she is about to bring up some great drama. "And you're referring to …?"

"Glacia and Lorelei," he pauses to consider something and I find myself a little proud that he mentioned wanting me specifically. But I see that some of the cameras have switched to me and Lorelei and I keep my emotions calm. Lorelei actually rolls her eyes at this statement, letting the crowd know just what she thinks about Cyrus. I have to admit, we both look like we don't care that this outer District tribute wanted to be our ally. Yet Cyrus seems unaware of these and continues explaining what happened to Claudia. "And I suppose I would have been fine with Ardos too since he has had some training. Not as much as the other two but enough to be worthwhile to me. But they think they're too good to have me in their alliance since they have had training and I haven't. But just wait," he lets out a laugh that's empty of happiness and I know I shouldn't be underestimating him but I just don't feel worried about him yet. "They'll learn very quickly that they shouldn't have rejected my offer."

Claudia is at the edge of her seat, excitement all over her face at this drama filled interview. And I understand why, this is going to make for a great show and everyone will be talking about it later. "I just want to be clear here. So you were the one who offered an alliance?"

"Yes," Cyrus responds briefly, looking slightly annoyed at the questioning.

"And they turned you down?" Claudia asks curiously, still looking excited about this interview despite his brashness.

Cyrus rolls his eyes at this before answering, clearly annoyed with the situation. "I'm not sure if it was all of them but it was definitely Glacia. She seems to be the ringleader of the babysitting club that is her alliance." He pauses and turns in his chair to look back at me, face angry as he stares at me. I glare back at him, accepting the challenge of his look and refusing to let him or the Capitol see me turning down his desire to fight me. "Just wait until tomorrow. You better remember the words I told you in training. I'll be waiting to make it happen once the games start."

The crowd is absolutely silent at this statement and I know everyone is watching me, waiting to see what my response might be to his statement. I refuse to look anywhere other than directly at Cyrus, matching his eye contact. I try to keep myself composed and refrain from saying anything but when he starts to smirk at my silence and begins to turn away from me, I can't help myself from speaking out, refusing to let the crowd think I am weak by not accepting his challenge. "Oh I can't wait!"

The crowd absolutely loses it and I watch the brief moment of shock on Cyrus' face before he composes himself and turns to the crowd. I lean back in my chair, content with myself for creating some drama. This will keep everyone talking about me. They'll all be waiting to see a confrontation between us and it will make more people interested in me. Claudia tries to get the crowd to calm down but they're all cheering for the fight that will surely happen between us. I look out at the mentors and make eye contact with Darach. He's shaking his head at me but there's a hint of a smile at the edges of his mouth. 'You're bad,' he silently says to me and I give a small shrug, but the smirk on my face shows that I don't feel bad about speaking out. It's one more thing to keep people in the Capitol talking about me.

Claudia keeps shouting at the crowd to quiet down so that she can finish the interview but it's no use. They won't stop being excited about the confrontation. The time runs out and Claudia looks exasperated at the crowd. "Everyone, please, calm down," she tries to reason but doesn't get any change. She turns to Cyrus and waves towards the back, "Cyrus, you can go back to your seat."

Cyrus stands up and gives a wave to the crowd before making his way back to the seats, a scowl on his face that I clearly outstaged him during his own interview. I stare him down, returning the glares he gives me. A few Peacekeepers make their way onto the stage and stand in-between the two of us, clearly weary about a fight happening between us. But they have no need to worry about me. I will gladly wait until tomorrow to fight when I have access to weapons and I'm not wearing a gown. But I'm sure I could still kick his ass in this dress.

Claudia stands up and puts her hands on her hips as she stares out at the crowd that finally starts to quiet down. "I know you are all excited about the games starting tomorrow and I am with you. But we still have two more tributes that need to be interviewed. Please show them the respect that you have shown the others. Now, our second to last tribute tonight is Lanette Croft from District Eleven."

I watch the poor girl make her way to Claudia, looking weary about this interview as her purple cape flows behind her. I feel a little pity for her that she won't have anyone paying attention to her after my outburst. But would the crowd have paid attention to the District Eleven tributes normally? Probably not. She sits down hesitantly and Claudia looks flustered still from trying to control the crowd. She starts off the interview with a basic question, clearly not able to think about anything other than what just happened. "Alright Lanette, can you tell me a little about yourself?"

The girl starts to explain her life in District Eleven and I get distracted from her as I notice the screens keeping flashing to myself and Cyrus. Well, I expected to have to fight Cyrus eventually in the games but now I have a feeling that it's going to happen a lot sooner, either because of Cyrus being angry at me or the Gamemakers putting us together. I should probably start getting into situations where the Gamemakers are going to make me fight people but hey, at least it means they'll be watching me.

Claudia has continued asking Lanette basic questions and she continues to respond, but it's clear she's unhappy about the situation. At one point, Claudia pauses and clearly seems distracted from the interview. "So what do you think about that outburst with Cyrus and Glacia?"

Lanette is visibly upset at this question and I understand why. I wouldn't want to have my interview be spent getting asked about other tributes. "I'm not sure what that's about. I didn't pay attention to them in training so I don't know when the drama started or the extent of it."

The buzzer sounds and Claudia looks a little happy to be done with the interview. Lanette on the other hand looks completely disappointed that she didn't have an opportunity to impress the sponsors. "Well thank you, Lanette." The girl walks back to her seat solemnly and I once again feel a little pity that I might have made her chances of getting sponsors even worse than normal. But I shouldn't care about that because she will have to die if I'm to become victor. "And now our final interview is with Archie Orsutti."

I let out a small sigh of relief as the boy in the purple suit makes his way to Claudia, knowing that the interviews are finally almost over. I'm starting to become exhausted from maintaining a good appearance for this long and my stomach is starting to ache with hunger. Claudia's face also shows relief that the end of the interviews is in sight. She shakes Archie's hand as he sits down and begins right away. "So Archie, you're the final tribute to be interviewed for the Fifth Quarter Quell. That's kind of a big deal."

Archie gives a small shrug at this statement. "Well everyone that was interviewed tonight is a big deal. Quells only happen every 25 years and clearly this one is going to be a crazy show."

Claudia nods her head in agreement at this, still looking a little distracted. "Yes, you are corrected. Now I want to first ask you what do you think about what Lanette said about you?"

I must have missed what she said when I was distracted by the cameras paying attention to me. Archie gives a response, looking happy as he talks about his District partner. "She's right. I can trust her and she can trust me in the games, something that is rare."

"That is indeed something rare in the games. I do find that District loyalty can provide the best alliances," Claudia mentions and I nearly scoff at the fact that this couldn't be farther from the truth for me and Lance. "So you are obviously the last person to be interviewed tonight. You've been able to watch all of the others tonight so what do you think about the other tributes?"

It's a clear attempt by Claudia to get information from Archie about myself and Cyrus. He doesn't take the bait and gives a good answer about everyone. "There are a few who are definitely threats. There are others that I'm not worried about at all. And then there are a few who I am not sure about but will have to watch carefully in the games."

"Will you tell us who those people are?" Claudia asks him, even though it's obvious to me who falls into which category. But I suppose it's more interested to hear directly from a tribute as it's possible that we might have seen things in training that isn't obvious from a three minute interview.

"I have to keep you in some suspense before the games start," Archie responds lightly to Claudia's question, earning a light laugh from her. But not revealing some names might hurt him and make him unmemorable.

"Ah I suppose you are right. But luckily for us, we will not have to wait too much longer before the games to start at this point," Claudia says and I can feel my heart beat quicken at the thought of the games starting soon. Yet I can't tell if it's out of excitement or nervousness at this point. Claudia is silent for a few seconds before speaking up once more. "Now I have one final question for tonight. How do you feel right now about the games?"

It's a boring way to wrap up the interviews, especially for a Quarter Quell. But I suppose Claudia can't help that Archie isn't as exciting as myself and my allies or even Cyrus. Archie thinks about this for a few seconds before replying, "I feel confident in myself and my ally. We work well together and I think we can make it far by working with each other. As for the others, well like I said before, there are ones to watch out for. But I'm going to make sure to be one of those."

Claudia is quiet for a moment after Archie's statement before the buzzer sounds, indicating that the interviews are finished. "Thank you, Archie, you can return to your seat." He quickly makes his way back to the seats as the crowd starts applauding for him. Claudia stands up and turns to look at us, motioning for us all to stand. As I stand with the others, the crowd starts cheering louder and I smooth out my dress before placing one hand on my hip and wave with the other, giving them a confident smile. Some of the others near me copy my action as Claudia addresses us. "Thank you tributes for allowing me to interview you tonight," she turns around so that she can look at the crowd. "That concludes the interviews for another year of the Hunger Games. Tributes, good luck tomorrow as the Fifth Quarter Quell begins and may the odds be ever in your favor. Goodnight, Panem!"

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 **If you want more information about the stories, please go to my website at** **thefifthquarterquell . weebly .com** **! It is now updated through Chapter 10!**


	11. The Calm Before The Storm

**Welcome to the 125th Hunger Games!**

 **Just a few things before the story begins. A reminder that this is one story out of two that are taking place during the same time. So if you are reading this story first and plan on reading the other, you may want to read the same chapter from the other in order to avoid spoilers to the character.**

 **I will update the stories on the same day, that way once the games start you can choose which story to read first as there will be some spoilers about what might happen to the other character.**

 **I'll let you begin the story. As always, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. Any comments are good comments.**

 **Let the Games begin!**

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 **Chapter 11:**

The inside of the Training Center is eerily quiet as we enter the building, a stark contrast to the crowd that is still cheering about the interviews outside. Everyone around me has somber expressions on their faces as they approach their allies for one last time before the games start. A few Peacekeepers have stepped up to where Cyrus is and begin to escort him to the elevators. He goes without a fuss but as he reaches the elevator, he turns to give me one last glare. I give him a casual wave and a smirk, part of me knowing I shouldn't keep edging him on but I can't help it when I think about fighting against him. He's made me so annoyed over the past few days and I've missed fighting against the larger guys at the Training Center in Two so this will be a welcome fight for me.

"Those interviews were so much fun!" Well, almost every tribute was acting somber about the games starting tomorrow. I turn away from the elevators as the doors close on Cyrus to face the ever energetic boy from District One. A few tributes nearby are shocked by his outburst and quickly move away from him as the pair from Four approaches where I stand with the pair from One and Lance. Ryoko is practically bouncing in excitement at what just happened and Anabel watches him with a small smile on her face. "We all did so well! And Cyrus totally got put down by Glacia interrupting his interview!"

"That was a little bold," Lorelei says with a shake of her head but flashes me a smile, showing she doesn't think my boldness was a bad thing. "But he was being such a pain in the ass that I'm glad you said that. I would have but I didn't want him targeting me so better you than me," she says with a laugh and I notice the double meaning of her statement. She's hoping that Cyrus can take me out so that she can then win.

I give her a smirk and return a comment to her, "Well I suppose it would be nice for you to have him beat me but sorry to disappoint but I won't let that happen."

A brief flash of anger shows on her face before she continues to smile at me, both of us knowing that we will end up fighting in the games. It's inevitable with two trained tributes. Both of us are determined to win but I'm going to show her that I'm better than her. Before I can say anything else, Ardos interrupts, "Guys, let's leave the fighting until tomorrow." I look over at him and I know he's right but after what happened with Cyrus, I'm ready for confrontation and itching to fight someone. The few days not being in the Training Center have really made me miss the daily sparing. "We should use this time to make sure we're all ready for tomorrow."

"He's right," Lance adds and I turn to see him nodding his head in agreement. I still don't understand what his plan is with this alliance and every time he gives some input, I become even more confused. "The others have all moved away from us so let's talk and make sure everyone is on the same page."

I look around at my alliances and see them all waiting for me to speak. They've recognized me as being in charge and it brings me a small confidence boost as it reminds me that I'm the best. "Well, it will depend on where we are in relation to the Cornucopia," I begin and make eye contact with each of them before continuing. Ryoko is attentively watching me, his face showing respect for me. Clearly One has taught him to respect the older tributes who have trained. Lorelei is apprehensive towards me, clearly still wishing to be in charge. Ardos is waiting patiently to discuss the plan and shows no signs of challenging me, which isn't surprising given him being younger and with less training. Anabel is looking up at me, face showing signs of nervousness but also a determination to fight. And Lance is unreadable, but I'm sure he isn't happy towards me. "We get there right away and we fight. We have to show them that we are ready to fight and claim the Cornucopia as ours." I start to pace a little and cross my arms as I look around at the other tributes. There are enough alliances that if they all decided to target us, they could overtake us. "We need to make sure to break up the alliances. Get one person from each and no one will be able to challenge us."

"What if we're all spread out across the arena?" Anabel brings up, her voice full of worry at this thought. And it's not something completely out of question, it just doesn't happen often.

But as I think about it for a few seconds, I feel almost completely confident that it won't happen. "I don't think Lisia will do that. It's a Quarter Quell. They're going to want fighting right away. They'll put us near the weapons." I pause as I think about that slim chance that we won't be near the weapons and while I know I would be fine, the others might not be. "But if it does happen, we get there as fast as possible to beat the others."

We're silent for a few seconds as we look around at each other, the reality of the games setting in. And as I look at my allies, I realize that they are not as bad as I thought they would be from the Reapings. Anabel and Ryoko have both proven that they are ready to fight, even if they aren't as skilled as their older District partners. And the older ones are going to be good for me to fight with and I know I would be doomed without them having training. The only questionable one is Lance but other than that, we make up a pretty decent alliance for being a group made up of non-volunteers.

Ardos is the one to finally speak up. "Well, good luck tomorrow. I'm glad to have this group as my allies."

Lorelei reaches out and shakes his hand at this, a smile on her face. "Likewise. I'm looking forward to fighting with you."

I nod my head at them, a small smile on my face as I address my allies for the last time before the games start. I start to feel a small amount of pity that I met Lorelei and Ardos here because they seem talented and I would have enjoyed training with them if they lived in Two. But I quickly put these thoughts behind me, not wanting to feel friendship towards these people since they will have to die if I'm to become the victor. And I don't want to feel sorry about it. "Everyone get rested tonight and be ready to start fighting tomorrow. One of us will win these games."

No one mentions that they plan on making that person be themselves. Ardos gives me a quick nod before turning to go to the elevators, Anabel following after giving us a small wave goodbye. Lorelei and Ryoko are quick to follow after them once the pair from Four has stepped onto the elevator. Ryoko gives me an energetic hand shake before running towards the elevator, earning a head shake from Lorelei before she takes my hand, holding on to it tightly. I stand up a bit straighter and return the gesture, looking her right in the eyes. "Glacia, you're the one person I'm really looking forward to fighting against. But until we reach that point, I will fight with you. The victor will be one of us two."

The thought of the final two being me and Lorelei is actually a great thought. I would much rather have my final fight be against someone with training and who is similar in mindset to me, not Lance and Caitlin. "I agree with you. It will be a great fight to end a Quarter Quell. See you in the morning."

Lorelei gives my hand once last squeeze, a silent reminder that she will do whatever it takes to win. She lets go and I watch her walk over to where Ryoko is waiting impatiently by the elevator for her. As I watch her leave, an uneasy feeling settles in my stomach but I push it away, not wanting to address any feelings towards my allies other than them being there to help me win.

Once the elevator has closed behind the pair, Lance lets out a chuckle from next to me. I turn towards him with an eyebrow raised, curious about what he's laughing about. He shakes his head at me, "That was really bold what you did."

I give him a shrug before starting to walk over to the elevators once I realize not very many tributes are left down here. He falls into step with me and I smirk a little as I think about what I did. The crowd went so crazy about it and I know they are going to sponsor me. "I couldn't let him get away with challenging me and not doing something. That would make me look weak compared to him."

Lance doesn't say anything to this as we step in the elevator and he pushes the button for floor two. Once the doors are shut and we've started moving up, he starts laughing at something. "What's so funny?" I ask him, thinking he's laughing at me and feeling as if I want to punch him.

He isn't able to respond until we've reached our floor and stepped out. He speaks through laughter as I kick off my heels, feeling relief as my bare feet hit the floor. "Flannery is going to kill you," he starts before another fit of laughter hits him. "She is so concerned with being proper and having a good image but you just spoke out of turn during the interviews."

I hadn't thought about how our escort is going to react to this but now that he's mentioned it, I'm picturing the tiny woman getting all angry at me being improper but I know that I made the right move. But I start laughing at the thought of her storming up here, unable to control it. Lance keeps laughing with me and I don't know what has happened that we reached a point where we can joke around about things but right now, I don't mind the small break from the stress of the games.

Our laughter covers up the sound of the elevator open. "I don't know what you two are laughing about, but you both should be ashamed of the disrespect that Glacia just showed the Capitol and Claudia!" We immediately stop laughing and I straighten up as I turn towards Flannery standing in front of the elevator, hands on her hips as she glares at us. I have to fight to not start laughing again and keep a smile off my face because she's just like I pictured: not menacing at all. I glance behind her and see the two mentors. Darach is grinning at me, clearly he is also amused by this situation which just makes it harder for me to fight a smile on my face. I turn my attention back to Flannery, hoping I didn't make her life too difficult. "I am disappointed in you, Glacia. I thought I taught you well today and you would be very respectful to Claudia." She accusingly points a finger at me, still trying to look tough but it's impossible to think that she is tough. "You better hope that the sponsors still want you after you disrespected the whole process of the interviews!"

"Give it a rest, Flannery," Darach says casually as he walks past her and over to me. He pats my shoulder and smiles proudly at me before turning back to the escort and I know I made the right move. "She won't lose sponsors for that. If anything, she'll get more now because she's shown that she won't back down from a challenge."

Flannery looks as if she wants to keep arguing against this and Roxanne steps in. "Darach is right. Glacia has shown that she wants to fight and you of all people should know how much the Capitol crowd loves to see good fights."

The escort looks unsure about agreeing with the mentors and we watch her for a few seconds as she faces an internal battle of staying angry or admitting that what I did was good, even if I was out of line. Finally, she lets out a sigh and relaxes her arms as she shakes her head at me. "Fine, it was good for getting sponsors. But you were still out of line and I'm going to write an apology letter to Claudia."

"What a wonderful idea," Roxanne says as she takes Flannery's arm and starts walking her further into the apartment. "But let's not worry about it right now. Dinner is waiting for us and I'm sure Lance and Glacia are starving." Roxanne glances at us for confirmation at this and now that she's pointed it out, I realize I've been so busy worrying about looking good for the crowd that I wasn't aware just how hungry I am. I give a quick nod and see Lance also give one. Roxanne's face shows she's happy that we agreed with her and continues leading Flannery past me and towards the dining room. "See? They're both hungry so let's not waste our dinner."

"You're right," Flannery grudgingly admits as they leave the room. "That would be worse than Glacia's outburst."

I laugh a little at this and turn back to Darach who looks as if he also wants to laugh at Flannery but is trying to be respectful. He shrugs at us as he puts his hands in his pockets. "Why don't you two go get changed before dinner. I'll keep Flannery calm while you go do that."

I give him a smile, "Thanks Darach, I will." Once he has my acknowledgement, he gives me a small smile and a nod to Lance before turning to follow after Roxanne and Flannery. I pick up my heels and start making my way over to the hallway leading to our rooms, noticing Lance walking next to me. I look up at him, no longer near his height will my shoes off. He appears to be deep in thought about something and I want to know what it is. Not because it might affect me in the games, rather for the fact that before we were having a rare moment where we got along and forgot for a moment that the games are happening tomorrow morning. "You okay?"

Lance looks down at me in surprise as we enter the hallway and I can see on his face that he's ready to close himself off but decides to answer me. "Not really. It kind of just hit me that tomorrow is when we're going to be fighting to the death." We pause at our doors on opposite sides of the hallway and he lets out a shaky sigh as he runs a hand through his carefully styled hair, immediately messing it up. "You probably aren't worried about it since you've been preparing for this for years but for me, I never wanted to do this. Yet I have to fight because I don't want to die and let Maylene down."

I feel an understanding for him and I'm reminded that we aren't that different right now. I put a hand on his arm, trying to comfort him a little because I understand having to fight for a loved one. He flinches initially at my touch but doesn't brush me away. "Trust me, I have doubts and fears about the games too. And I have to fight for Grandma so I understand how you feel about Maylene." I pause as I think about Grandma and he watches me curiously. "It's terrible to think about the fact that no matter who wins, one of them will be devastated." I take my hand back and lean against my door, watching him carefully to see if he will shut me out. And I don't understand why I'm feeling this way towards him but there's an understanding between us right now.

Lance is staring at me and I wait for him to respond with some sarcastic comment or something else to ruin this moment of not hating each other. But before he can say anything, the loud clicks of heels approach us and we both turn to see Serena and Galen approaching us. They both look proud but exhausted as Serena takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. "Oh you both shined tonight."

"Yes, you did great," Galen adds as he smiles at Lance. "We just got back because we had a lot of people stopping us to compliment us on your outfits."

"But let's get you changed, you must be starving," Serena quickly adds and nudges me aside so she can open up my door. As she starts dragging me inside, I give one last look at Lance and he gives me a short nod, his way of silently saying that he understands what I said. Serena closes the door behind me and is quick to push me in the room before starting to get the dress off me. As she takes the belt off, she starts talking to me. "You really did do well tonight. When we were leaving, everyone kept talking about you challenging Cyrus and how they can't wait to see you two fight."

She unzips my dress and starts to slip it off me as I start smiling a little at this, not feeling as excited as I was a few minutes ago before talking to Lance. "Well I'm going to give them that fight," I tell her as she steps back with the dress and starts straightening it out to hang up. I move to the dressers and pull out a simple maroon shirt and soft black pants. As I put them on, I look up at Serena and smile appreciatively at her. "And thank you once again for giving me an amazing dress. I know Claudia didn't say anything about it but it was one of the best."

Serena smiles at this praise as she puts the dress bag in its bag. She lays it gently on the bed before returning her gaze to me, looking proud. "Well she didn't need to mention it because there was so much to talk about with you. The girls she talked to about their outfits were rather dull and needed something to make them shine."

I let out a laugh at this statement, feeling better that Claudia never brought up my dress. It's such a small thing to be petty about but when you come from the Training Center where the guys view you almost as one of the boys, it's nice to receive some praise about looks. But Serena's comment has reminded me that I am better than the others in a better way for winning the games. "Thank you," I say quietly as she walks over to me and takes my hand once more. I hold on tightly, feeling a bit emotional towards the stylist who has helped make sure I stand out. I don't know why I keep feeling differently towards the people here with me and I don't like feeling this way towards people because feeling will end up getting me killed. I thought going into the games that I wouldn't care about the people in the Capitol or that I would start feeling whatever it is I'm feeling towards Lance.

Serena gives me a sad smile at this and I remember that she has been a stylist for Two for six years. Of that, how many tributes that she has styled for have won? Maylene, maybe Jory. So she has seen at least five tributes die and it's clear that she does care about us each year. "You're very welcome. Being a stylist for the games is something I love so I'm happy to help you out."

I'm silent for a few seconds as I continue thinking about her time as a stylist. "Were you the stylist for Maylene?"

Serena gives a small laugh at this question and I raise an eyebrow curiously. "No, I didn't. Galen did," she pauses and laughs some more before continuing. "His very first year as a stylist and he had the victor." She quiets down and becomes serious once more. "It was for that reason that he wanted to be Lance's stylist so we switched after the Reaping who would help each tribute. We work throughout the year so it wasn't too difficult to switch but it did cause us both to have a little extra work."

I hadn't thought about this before yet it makes perfect sense. Even though I'm sure they try to not get attached to their tributes, it's probably hard to avoid it. "Have you ever styled for a victor?"

Serena shakes her head at this and gives me a sad smile. "I have not but the tributes I've worked with have all been wonderful." She takes a moment to look me over before nodding her head in approval. "But my gut tells me that this year that will change."

Her confidence in me gives me some pride but also makes me worry that I now have another person that I can't let down in the games. It seems like that list is growing every day. But I still give her a confident smile at this and want to make sure I win. "Well I have the same gut feeling." I laugh as my stomach rumbles again. "I also have a gut feeling that I'm really hungry."

Serena gives a warm laugh at this and let's go of my hand to move her arm around my shoulder. "Then let's not keep dinner waiting any longer!" My mood is still light as she starts to lead us out of my room. Lance's door is open across the hall and I know he must already be at the table. Yet as we walk towards where the others are talking over dinner, I can't help but feel a cloud of dark emotions at the thought of the games. I push these aside as we reach the dining room and I get a good whiff of all of the food piled on the table. Yes, my worries about the games starting can wait until after I eat.

Flannery looks up at me happily as I quickly sit down next to Darach and start piling food onto my plate. "Ah, Glacia, so happy that you are here. I was telling Lance about how fantastic you two were at your interviews."

I start shoving food in my mouth, feeling so happy with the delicious taste of some poultry cooked with honey. I look over at Lance who pauses from his food to elaborate on this. "Yeah Flannery mentioned that she's already getting messages from people who want to sponsor us."

"Really?" I ask in surprise and look over at our escort. Well, I'm not completely surprised that we have people wanting to sponsor us. I'm more surprised that they are trying to reach out to Flannery so soon after the interviews.

Flannery is practically beaming with pride at this. She must be so lucky to have been placed as District Two's escort last year. But I suppose when you get a victor your first year as an escort, especially from Eight, you get to move up quickly. "Yes, they won't stop messaging me and practically throwing their money already. It's obviously because you two both had excellent interviews and impressed the crowd."

"See?" Darach asks and I glance at him as I grab a roll, spotting his usual look of arrogance, yet it's so far from his true self. "That outburst that had you all bothered didn't ruin their chances of sponsors at all."

As I watch Flannery's face show annoyance, I once again feel a little bad at causing her stress. But the food is too good to keep me in a bad mood. "Did I apologize for that yet?" I ask her before taking a sip of water. After a second thought, I take a few more sips because I know I should get hydrated before the games. Her face shows that I clearly haven't yet and I quickly speak up. "I'm sorry for causing you any stress."

Flannery purses her lips at this and stares at me for a few seconds before giving me a curt nod. "Very well, I accept your apology." She looks at all of us eating and claps her hands to make sure we all pay attention to her. "Well since we're all here, I should go over the last of the schedule before Lance and Glacia are in the arena."

The thought of being so close to starting the games makes my stomach turn a little and I put my fork down and lean back in my chair to listen to her. She is once again looking at that tablet of hers and I briefly wonder how she would function if something happened to it. "Now tonight we obviously have dinner together. After that, we can watch reruns of the interviews but that is optional for everyone to watch." Flannery pauses to look at me and Lance, a proud smile on her face. "I'm afraid myself and the mentors must say farewell to you tonight as we must go early in the morning to the Control Center. I do want to say that it has been an honor for me to be your escort. Both of you are so capable and I really do believe that District Two will have another victor this year."

Her statement as me feeling uneasy because now I feel like I have to also make sure I don't let her down. I give her a nod and a smile, happy when Lance speaks up. "Thank you for helping us."

Flannery returns the smile to us before glancing down at her tablet once more. "Now tomorrow morning, Serena and Galen will arrive at 8 am sharp to travel with you to the arena. They will help you get ready and then at 10 am the games begin."

This comment sends chills down my spine. Not because I'm ready to go and start fighting. It's because I'm not feeling as prepared as I was before the Reaping. I suddenly don't feel hungry anymore and cross my arms, earning a concerned look from Darach. He doesn't say anything and I'm glad to not have to explain my doubts just yet.

Everyone else seems to realize just how soon we are to the games starting and there's silence as everyone continues eating. I slowly sip my water as I stare at my plate, my mind wandering about tomorrow. I can only hope that the arena will be something I can work with. But I suppose the trainers have prepared me for most climates. As long as I have access to food, water, and weapons from the Cornucopia, I should be good. But I don't think I could handle an arena that is similar to Grandma's as I might not be able to handle mutts similar to hers. Maybe I'll get lucky and we'll be in an arena that is warm so I don't have to worry about freezing at night. But I don't want to be on an island because that would put Ardos and Anabel at an advantage. And forests would put Caitlin and Lance at an advantage because of course the girl from Seven will know how to climb and I know Lance spent time learning. There's no arena that won't benefit at least one of the other tributes in some way. I guess I can only hope that it will benefit me more.

Flannery clears her throat and breaks me out of my thoughts. I look up at her and notice that most of the others are done eating. She gives all of us a gentle smile before standing up. "Well if everyone is done eating, we can go head over to prepare for the reruns."

I stand up and get ready to head over before noticing that Lance looks unsure as he speaks up. "I don't think I'm going to watch the reruns."

I turn my attention to Flannery, wondering how she will react. She has a frown on her face and sighs a little at this. "Very well. What are you going to do instead?"

"I think I'm going to head up to the roof to get some fresh air," he says and stands up. At first, I assume it's so that he can meet Caitlin. But as I stare at his face, I can see fear and worry in his eyes. It seems like he is just as worried about the games starting as I am.

Roxanne speaks up at this, her face full of concern. "How long will you be up there?"

"I'm… not sure," Lance gives as his answer as he looks at his mentor. She smiles gently at him as he continues. "I might be up there late so I can try to relax and get my mind off of the games starting tomorrow."

"Then this might be goodbye now," Flannery says and quickly walks over to him, her heels making the only sound in the room. She embraces him and I watch his face shows surprise and hesitation before he finally returns the gesture. "Oh good luck tomorrow! You make me so proud and I know you will keep doing so in the arena."

Flannery steps back and Roxanne clears her throat and raises her eyebrows at Darach. After that, he is quick to put a hand on my shoulder and start to push me away from the table. "Come on, Glacia, let's go get settled in the other room." I fight back against him for a few seconds as he acknowledges Lance. "Good luck, kid."

We're halfway across the room before I finally realize that Darach is trying to give Roxanne and Lance a private moment to say goodbye. I turn around to look at Lance, realizing that this will probably be the last time that I see him before the arena. He is watching me apprehensively as I try to figure out what to say to him. "Are we still in agreeance about what the alliance is doing tomorrow?" Lance gives a nod to me despite looking a little unhappy about the plan. "Good. Then I'll see you in the arena."

I turn to finish walking out of the room with Darach as Lance calls after me. "See you tomorrow." His voice sounds heavy with sadness as we enter the living room and I know he is worried about the games. And I feel some pity towards him because he's up against a lot of people who are very determined to fight and get home. But why do I keep feeling this way towards him when I know he must die if I'm to make it home alive?

Darach leads me over to the couch and sits me down, making me look at him. "What's wrong?" he asks, not needing to be told that something is wrong with me. He just has that understanding of me and sometimes I wish he would notice these things. But right now, I'm happy about it.

I stare at him, face full of concern for me and not the menacing victor so many see. And that makes me finally break down and open up to him. "I don't feel prepared," I say quietly and shake my head, not understanding why I have these doubts.

"Why?" Darach asks, sounding baffled at this admittance. "Glacia, you're the most trained tribute here. Hell you're even the best female of Reaping age in District Two. There's no way you're not prepared to fight and win."

I let out a sigh at him thinking I'm having doubts about my skills. I start feeling silly to admit to him that I'm worried more about emotional aspects of the games. I shouldn't be concerned about these things as it will just hurt me later on. Yet I explain what I'm feeling to Darach. "I know that I can fight." I stand up and start pacing, not sure how to articulate what my problem is. "I just find myself doubting my ability to fight people I've gotten to know and there's so many people that are counting on me to win. And I don't know why I'm feeling this way because I was perfectly fine at the Reaping."

Darach suddenly stands up and moves with that speed that only someone who has trained for years can move with. He puts his hands on my shoulders and shakes me a little. "Listen to me very carefully," he says in a harsh tone that makes me instantly look away from him as it reminds me of getting yelled at during training. "Look at me," he says louder and I quickly meet his gaze. I'm met with determined eyes that are also full of concern. "Whatever emotions you're feeling right now, you need to push them aside. You need to put all of your focus on staying alive. Once you're out of the arena, then you can deal with these feelings."

"But how do I avoid it until the games are over?" I still feel doubt over the games, despite his confidence in me.

He gives my shoulders a squeeze as he contemplates this. "If you start thinking that you can't kill an ally – who would probably not hesitate to kill you – or that you're going to let someone down, I want you to think about me. Think about how I have complete faith in your ability to fight and win the games. Think about how I fought my games without faltering, because I pushed aside any feelings and focused on fighting, killing, and then winning." He sighs and lets go of my shoulders to run a hand through his hair. "We'll deal with the emotions after we're both back in Two."

"Just don't push your feelings away forever." We both turn towards the entrance to the room and see Roxanne leaning against the doorframe. She gives me a gently smile before walking in and sitting down on the couch. I wonder how much she heard about my doubts and if she is judging me. "It is good to feel," she continues slowly and carefully as she watches me and I find myself remembering that she was once a career. She acts so differently from the others that I forget most of the time that she was like me. "It reminds you that you are alive. Keep your emotions locked away and you end up harsh and miss out on some of the joys of living."

I share a knowing look with Darach, both of us aware that he is one of the victors that hides his feelings away. It's a reminder of our conversation last night. I let out a sigh as I return to the couch and cover my face with my hands. I think about what they've both told me and I know they're both right. I just don't know how I can keep my feelings hidden away in the games. "What if I can't?"

"Can't what? Keep your feelings from getting in the way of fighting?" Roxanne asks, her tone is surprisingly sharp and I move my hands so I can look at her. "Then use the feelings to help you fight. As long as you make sure it doesn't hinder you, feelings can fuel your will to fight."

I doubt that my feelings about liking my allies will help me fighting against them. "I don't think what I'm feeling will help me fight," I reply to her as Darach sits down on the other side of me.

"Well of course that won't help you fight," Darach says with a scoff that earns him a glare from Roxanne. "I'm not going to sugar coat things for you. I never have and never will. Now if you can't hide all of your doubts until the games are done, I want you to focus on Sylvia. Focus on how you've been training for years for her. Focus on how you cannot let her down by losing. She has always been the one thing that ignited your desire to fight hard. Make sure that is still the case in the games."

I take a deep breath as I listen to him, putting my thoughts on Grandma. I recall the way we used to sit in the backyard and pick out our favorite roses to put in a vase inside. I recall the way she will respond sarcastically at anyone telling her to take it easy. But most of all, I remember the way she believed in me when no one else did when I started training. Yes, she has always been my biggest supporter and will continue to be until I am back home in Two.

I nod my head at Darach and Roxanne, starting to feel a little better. I still have doubts about my allies and how I will be able to kill them but at least now I've been reminded of why I started fighting in the first place. Suddenly, I'm pulled into a hug by Darach and the embrace is so comforting to me. "Glacia, you will get through this. I completely believe in your ability to fight."

"Thank you," I whisper to him, my face pressed against his chest. I hear the footsteps of Flannery and the stylists, yet I don't care that they see me like this. I don't care anymore about putting up a front to them of being tough all the time. That's not me. I like the fighting and feeling the rush of using weapons, but I have to use the front to make sure others don't find weaknesses in me.

Darach rubs my back comfortingly as Flannery stops in front of us. She crouches down so that she can look me in the eyes, her face showing concern for me. "Are you alright?"

I nod at her and pull back from Darach who keeps an arm around me. "I'm fine now. Just feeling a little nervous and scared for the games to start tomorrow."

"Well no need to keep feeling that way," Flannery says confidently as she moves to the couch and turns on the TV. Claudia and Elliot are already discussing the girl from Three's interview. I suppose I won't get to hear what they have to say about me but I don't know if I want that criticism right now. "Oh damn, we missed your two interviews! Oh well, we can still watch the rest of the interviews. And Glacia, I want you to bring back that confident girl I picked at the Reaping. I know she's still in there and that's the person who is the real you."

Flannery's confidence in me makes me smile and for once, I'm not feeling worried about her putting her faith in me. I just remind myself that Grandma has done the same thing for me and I'm fighting for that. I need to not use their faith as a weakness but use it to fight, just like Roxanne told me.

I try to watch the interviews now that I can watch them from the audience's perspective. I listen to the stylists give small comments here and there about some of the outfits. But I cannot focus on the interviews as it starts to bring back a tiny amount of stress. I make it to the boy from Five before I decide I can't watch any more. I stand up, earning confused looks from everyone. "I'm going to try to go to sleep," I take a shaky breath as I look at everyone, seeing concern on their faces for me.

Flannery jumps up from her seat and pulls me into an embrace. I return it, causing her to hold on to me a little tighter. She takes a small step back so she can look at me, her arms still around me. Her eyes almost look like they are watering as she smiles at me. "Oh Glacia, I'm so proud of you. You are a beautiful and fierce woman and I know you have what it takes to win." She lets go of me and sighs as she returns to the couch. "I sure hope this will not be the last time I see you."

I let out a small laugh at this and give her a smile. She probably isn't supposed to pick favorites of her two tributes but compared to her goodbye with Lance, it's clear she thinks I am more likely to win. "I'm planning on seeing you again. You better start planning all of the details of my victory tour now."

Flannery looks delighted at this comment and laughs lightheartedly at me. I turn my attention to the stylists and receive a nod of acknowledgement from Galen, more than I expected from him. Serena gives me a smile and a wave. "I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well."

I nod at her before looking at the mentors. Darach stands up and puts a hand on my shoulder. "I'll walk over with you."

I give him a smile before turning to Roxanne, feeling sad as I look at her. I regret not getting to know her well before I was ever chosen for the games as she is just as brave as the other victors. And she has not just helped out Lance, she has given me good advice when she didn't have to. Roxanne stands up and holds out her arms, letting me decide if I wish to be hugged by her. I step forward and she embraces me, whispering in my ear. "Good luck tomorrow. You have what it takes, just don't become distracted from your goal."

I'm shocked by her admittance, feeling as if she just admitted that she would rather have me win than Lance. I step back and look at her face, wanting to see if that is really the case. No, she does not seem to have given up her faith in Lance. Instead, it seems that she has grown to like me and probably respects my grandmother. I give her a sad smile, realizing that if I win, she will be disappointed that Lance did not. "Thank you. And if we meet again, I'm sorry for what I might do in the next few weeks."

I don't have to say what I mean and she looks at me with understanding in her eyes. But of course, she is a victor and knows that only one tribute can win. She gives me a nod before sitting back down. I return my attention to Darach whose face is unreadable right now. "Come on," he says and places his hand on my shoulder once more and starts moving me towards the rooms. "You need to rest." We walk in silence out of the room and we are halfway across the main room of the floor before he finally speaks up. "Now you have obviously been my top choice to compete in these games for years," he begins and pauses as we enter the hallway. I start to feel a pit in my stomach as I realize it is time to say goodbye to my mentor and there is a chance I may never see him again. We stop in front of my door and he lets out a loud sigh as he turns to look at me. "I want you to know that I will be supporting you no matter what throughout the games. I will get you sponsor gifts to help you. But you need to keep fighting. I can only do so much to help you win. The rest is up to you."

I gaze up at my mentor, feeling overwhelmed by his faith in me. And I know that in the arena I won't just use Grandma as my reason to fight. Darach will be just as important of a reason to me. I reach out and hug him, holding on tightly. He returns the embrace, holding me close to him. "Darach I promise I will get back to you. I won't let you down."

We stay there for a minute, both of us not wanting to let go as that means saying goodbye. But it needs to happen eventually and if we stay like this for much longer, it will be so much harder for me to leave for the games tomorrow. I finally step back and look up at him, hopefully not for the last time. "Thank you for everything."

Darach gives a sad smile at this and crosses his arms. I can tell he's trying to fight off emotions like always but he allows a little to show for me now. "You're welcome," he whispers and his face shows pride and sadness as he watches me before I turn to step into my room. "Come back alive," I hear him say quietly as I shut my door, feeling a tear slip as I think about never seeing him again. But I wipe it away as I make my way to my bed, hoping I can get some sleep tonight so I can be rested and ready to fight to get back to Grandma and Darach.

* * *

A knock rings through my room as I stare up at the ceiling, almost in disbelief that the games are finally starting today. I've wanted this for so many years and I thought I would be ecstatic about this day arriving. Yet I feel only a sense of dread and a determination to not let down the most important people in my life.

The door opens and I hear the click of heels that I've come to associate from Serena's red heels. She stops next to my bed and I turn to look at her, a little surprised to see her wearing bright red instead of her usual black attire. She notices me appraising her outfit and lets out a little chuckle as she sits down on the edge of my bed. "I wanted to wear red to show my support for you. The Capitol seems to be associating that color with you after your interview dress. Or maybe it's for the blood they think you will shed." She gives a shrug at this as I sit up, unsure which option I would rather have. "I suppose it doesn't matter. How are you feeling today? Did you get enough sleep?"

I did manage to get a few hours of sleep but not enough to feel fully rested. I give her a half smile and a yawn slips out before I answer her. "I got enough sleep to keep me alert and ready to fight. And as for how I feel, I really have no idea."

Serena places her hand over mine and smiles at me. "Well we have two hours to get you feeling completely ready and prepared to fight. Now we're going to take a hovercraft over and you will be able to eat breakfast then. Once we arrive below the arena, I will take you to your prep room and you will be able to shower before you get dressed. And then I send you off into the arena, looking fierce and ready to fight."

I let out a sigh before accepting that I can't put this off. "Alright, let's get going," I respond to her, trying to build up my confidence to its peak. She pats my hand at this before standing up, allowing me space to swing myself out of bed. As I stand up, I almost start laughing at her shoe choice. "Gold? Now you're just copying my outfits."

Serena rolls her eyes at this as she moves to grab a pair of shoes for me to slip on. But as she returns and sets down the pair at my feet, she has a smile on her face. "Well I created the outfit so really I'm just copying myself."

We both laugh at this as I put the shoes on. I give another look at her appearance before smiling up at her. "I think the colors look well on you. You should do this more often."

Serena loops her arm with mine and tsks at me as we start walking towards my bedroom door. "Glacia, dear, it's my job to give fashion advice," she jokes as we enter the hallway and make our way towards the main room. "You don't see me telling you how to use weapons."

I laugh at this as we enter the main room and the elevators are in sight. I've started to feel better about the games starting today, thanks to the help of my stylist. Which is surprising because she's one of the people with the least amount of experience with the actual games. "Well I probably wouldn't follow your advice if you did."

"And that's a smart move," Serena answers as she presses the button to go down. I must look confused about this since I thought we would be heading somewhere upstairs to fly out. "The hovercrafts are below the city to avoid anyone from seeing the tributes before the game start," Serena says before the doors open. We step on the empty elevator and she presses the button for the floor we had the training. She seems to know exactly where we are going and I let her take the lead.

When we reach the floor from training, the elevator actually opens behind us in a door I didn't realize existed. We walk down a flight of stairs and enter a huge hanger filled with hovercrafts. I spot off near the far end of the hanger some other tributes walking with their stylists. Yet Serena leads me to the left and we walk past one hovercrafts before she stops. "Do they really provide one hovercraft per tribute?"

"Yes," Serena says to me as she waves in greeting at a person waiting near the ramp who appears to be the pilot. "Serena Weldonar with Glacia Skylar, District Two," she says confidently to the man.

He steps to the side and gestures up the ramp. "Right this way, madam. We will take off shortly," he says and I follow Serena's loud heels up the ramp and into the hovercraft. The inside is so high tech and I've never seen anything like this before. The pilot walks behind us and clears his throat to get me to look away from my surroundings. I look at him and he waves at a woman dressed in all white that I hadn't noticed before. "If you could give Corano your right arm, she will insert the tracker."

I follow his instructions and stick out my arm to the woman. She grabs it and pulls it towards her roughly before sticking a large needle into my arm. I flinch at the unexpected pain and can feel the tracker once it is placed in my arm. She removes the needle and I expect the wound to start gushing blood but it doesn't bleed at all. Probably another Capitol medical advancement. The pilot smiles at me as the woman walk to a different room of the hovercraft. "Please make yourself comfortable and eat some breakfast. We will be leaving soon."

I watch him walk towards the front, rubbing my arm that is throbbing slightly from the tracker. Once he is out of the room, an avox steps out of a different room carrying a plate of food. The aromas of pancakes and eggs draws me over to the table off to the side of the room. Serena follows me and sits with me as I start quickly eating the food, unsure how long the flight will be. I want to make sure I can eat all of it because there's always a chance I will have to ration my food in the arena.

A few minutes pass in silence before the hovercraft hums to life around us. I look around and gaze out a window to see some of the other hovercrafts have been started as well. A few seconds pass and some of the ones closer to us start leaving the hanger. We take off and I watch the hanger fly past before we fly through a tunnel. It seems to be forever before we reach the open sky, and I glance back to see that we have exited outside of the Capitol walls. The feeling of flying is so odd and it makes me a little uneasy to see the ground so far below us.

I soon turn back to the food and see Serena watching me with an amused look on her face. "Every year, tributes are shocked at flying. I always forget that it's something you never see in the Districts."

"I'm not sure if I like it," I respond, my stomach feeling a little queasy. She laughs at this as I take a sip of water, not wanting to throw up my food.

"That's also something that happens every year," Serena explains her laughter as I try to keep eating my food. The windows darken and Serena lets out a gasp. "I've never seen them darken the windows so soon. That must mean the arena is located not that far from the Capitol."

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not and keep eating my food in silence. This just means that we are even closer to the games starting. I feel my stomach twisting, no longer from flying. Serena lets me eat in silence and I'm thankful she doesn't make me keep talking. I need to focus on what's going to happen very soon. Some time passes as I think about the games, focusing on Grandma and Darach as I must fight for them.

"I think we're descending now," Serena speaks up after a while of silence and I look at her, confused by how she can tell when the windows are dark. "Can you feel that almost weightless feeling? That's from us dropping altitude."

"Oh, I thought that was just my nerves," I respond quietly as the hovercraft begins to slow down. My heart beats faster at this and I wait for a small thud as the hovercraft surely has just landed. I take a deep breath as the ramp lowers and Serena stands up. She motions for me to follow her and I stand up on shaky legs. I slowly follow her down the ramp, unsure what I will find at the bottom.

We're in a similar looking hanger as the one we left in the Capitol except waiting at the bottom of the ramp are two Peacekeepers. When I reach the bottom, they step forward to walk on either side of me and start leading me towards a hallway in front of us. I glance around before we enter to see Lorelei to my left walking towards where I am with Peacekeepers and to my right the boy from Five. Once we enter the hallway, the only sound is Serena's heels. We allow the Peacekeepers to lead me down several turns before stopping at an unmarked door. I have no idea how they would know this is mine but one opens the door and I enter with Serena.

When we are both inside, the Peacekeepers slam the door shut and I hear the lock click in place. There's no going back now. I look around the room, noticing a clothes rack containing the outfit I will be wearing in the arena, a table with a pitcher of water and two glasses, and a small box that I'm unsure about the contents. But my eyes keep getting drawn back to the tube at the back left corner. In only a little while, I will be travelling up in there and facing the arena.

I turn back to Serena, feeling anxious now that we're in the launch room. She points to a door and gives me a reassuring smile. "The bathroom is there. Go get showered and I'll be waiting out here."

I give a nod of my head, unsure if I can speak right now as I walk into the tiny bathroom. I quickly take off the clothes I slept in and step into the shower, not knowing how much time I have before the games start. I let out a sigh of relief as the hot water hits me, feeling content to stand there in the warmth. My thoughts wander to the arena that is above my head right now and what it will be like. We didn't fly very far which might put us in the middle of Panem. That could mean we have a forest surrounding us. Or if we flew west, we might be surrounded by the sea. Both options sound unpleasant and I hope that it's neither because the Capitol is capable of creating whatever arena they want. Surely they wouldn't do something simple like a forest or island.

I sigh as I start washing my hair, aware that my time is probably limited. I want to at least start the games with my hair looking nice. The games will probably last two weeks and that's a long time to go without showering. The thought of being that dirty has me shiver in disgust. Yeah I hope I can find a water source to at least keep the blood off of me.

As I start to wash my body, I hear a knock on my door and speed up my shower, unhappy that I'll have to leave the warmth. Because what if this is the last time I'll be warm until the games are done?

But I wrap up my shower and step out, the Capitol technology causing me to dry instantly. Resting on a small stand are undergarments and a robe and I put them on before returning to Serena. She walks over to me and hands me a glass of water. "Here, keep drinking water. We can't have you becoming dehydrated."

I start sipping the water as she walks over to the clothes. She grabs a pair of tan pants first and brings them to me, taking back the glass. I feel the material of the pants before slipping them on, noticing right away that they fit perfectly. "These feel durable."

"I thought so too," Serena agrees before returning to grab the light gray shirt. I look at the pants as she is doing this, noticing the amount of pockets available. "They seem to want to make sure you have enough supplies on you at all times," she says and I look up at her as she passes me the shirt.

I slip off the robe and let it fall to the ground before slipping the shirt on, immediately frowning at the short sleeves. "Why do you think they gave us a short sleeved shirt?" I ask her as I pull on the fabric to feel it better. "And it doesn't feel very thick."

"You'll probably be in a warmer climate," Serena says and I look up as her heels sound on the floor. Thankfully, she's grabbing a jacket to give to me. "But clearly not warm enough that you won't need some warmth at night."

I slip on the jacket and she tosses a pair of soft socks at me. I slip them on as I look up at her. "So what type of arena would you guess I'm about to go to based on the outfit?"

She looks at me, deep in thought and I grab my glass of water. I start sipping it once more as she moves behind me and starts to put my hair up in a ponytail. "Hard to say. I would guess a similar temperature range to what I think you have in Two?"

I think about this for a moment before nodding my head in agreement. Yes, this time of year you can wear pants and not be overheated but the nights do get a little chilly. "I wouldn't mind something like that."

"But that's just my speculation," Serena replies as she finishes pulling my hair back. "There, now you don't have to worry about your hair getting in your way while fighting." I turn to look at her and she walks back to the table. She picks up the small box and walks over to me, a smile on her face. "Now we can't forget about your token."

She opens the box and I can't believe I nearly forgot about the ruby ring that Grandma had given me. They had taken it from me as soon as we entered the Capitol which feels like so long ago. Serena hands the ring to me gently and I slip it on my left hand, not wanting to damage it while fighting. I stare at it for a few seconds, wondering if Grandma had done the same things years ago.

I put my hand down and return my gaze to Serena, starting to feel overwhelmed with emotions at the thought of Grandma. "Thank you for everything you've done for me," I say quietly and she pulls me into a hug.

"You're very welcome, Glacia. It has been a pleasure to work with you," she responds kindly before stepping back, smiling at me. "Now you're not ready to go yet, you still need your shoes on," she jokes and laughs a little as she quickly grabs a pair of black boots. I sit down at one of the chairs against the wall and she passes the boots to me, allowing me to slip them on and get them comfortable before quickly lacing them up. "Now don't go losing these. You definitely don't want to travel in the arena barefoot, regardless of what you're up against."

"I won't," I say with a chuckle. It's one of those little things you don't think about before the games start but losing shoes would be terrible.

Serena looks like she's ready to say something but is interrupted by a voice speaking loudly into the room. "Tributes, one minute to launch. Please prepare for launch."

My heart starts to race loudly at this announcement and Serena takes my shaking hand, helping me to stand up. She walks me over to the launch tube as my stomach is twisting. Before I step in, she has me look at her and squeezes my hand. "Stay strong, Glacia. Remember your training and win."

I nod my head at this, feeling incapable of speaking as I step into the tube. It closes around me and I feel my breath quicken at the enclosed space. Seconds pass that feels like hours as I look at Serena. When I finally start to rise, she gives me a thumbs up of encouragement before I lose sight of her and I'm surrounded by darkness.

Okay, focus on fighting. Focus on Grandma. Focus on Darach. The tube pushes me closer to the light above my heart and my heart races. I can do this. I know how to fight. I have people I must win for.

The tube pushes me above ground and I squint against the suddenly light. Once my eyes adjust, I immediately search for the Cornucopia and swear when I see how far away it is and how many tributes are located closer than I am. I look down at the platform I'm on before noticing Lance directly to my left, looking terrified but also determined. To my left are the tributes from Five and it seems like all of the tributes are starting with their District partner as to the left of the pair from Five are Anabel and Ardos.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let the 125th Hunger Games and Fifth Quarter Quell begin."

I turn my attention back towards the Cornucopia and brace myself to start running as time ticks down.

It's time to fight.

* * *

 **If you want more information about the stories, please go to my website at** **thefifthquarterquell . weebly .com** **! It is now updated through Chapter 11!**


	12. The Games Day 1

**Welcome to the 125th Hunger Games!**

 **Just a few things before the story begins. A reminder that this is one story out of two that are taking place during the same time. So if you are reading this story first and plan on reading the other, you may want to read the same chapter from the other in order to avoid spoilers to the character.**

 **I will update the stories on the same day, that way once the games start you can choose which story to read first as there will be some spoilers about what might happen to the other character.**

 **I'll let you begin the story. As always, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. Any comments are good comments.**

 **Let the Games begin!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12:**

 _Lisia Arune_

 _Head Gamemaker_

Lisia carefully watched the chaos unfold in front of her as the time ticked down in the final minute before her Quarter Quell began. It was organized chaos, of course, as Lisia wouldn't allow for anything to go wrong with her games. She had been planning this since the day last year's victor returned to District Seven, determined to make sure she will be remembered for years as having the best Quarter Quell.

 _Fifty-six, fifty-five, fifty-four…_

From her seat on the ledge overlooking the Games Headquarters, she could see her Gamemakers preparing everything. Directly in front of her sat her three most trusted associates as they gave the countdown and made sure the tributes were all ready to fight. The panel at the table in front of them shows the map of the arena she carefully created over many late nights with 22 lights flashing. The trackers are fully working, not that she expected anything else. If Gamemaker Azule had messed up the trackers, Lisia would have his head. Nothing can go wrong today.

 _Forty-four, forty-three, forty-two…_

To the left side of the room sat the Gamemakers in charge of creating the mutts. They had a difficult task to complete when Lisia decided on the theme of the arena and they had to go do research, but they did not disappoint her. Even now as she glances at the screens containing the creatures that they are still working on to perfect, Lisia knows they will create fear for the tributes and excitement for the Capitol.

 _Thirty-seven, thirty-six, thirty-five…_

And to the right sit the Gamemakers that can change the conditions of the arena at a single word from Lisia. The power to make it rain one minute and be sunny the next is intoxicating to her. She feels like a goddess as she runs the arena, not unlike the gods and goddesses that she had the tributes dress as for the tribute parade. One of her more brilliant ideas, but it was not as clever as her arena. That was her greatest accomplishment.

 _Thiry, twenty-nine, twenty-eight…_

Lisia returns her attention to the many screens displayed on the wall in front of her, all showing different views of the arena. Some span around the arena to show the Capitol what the tributes cannot yet see. An ancient city surrounded by unclimbable walls on three sides. A glittering sea blocking the city on the eastern edge. Broken down buildings take up a majority of the arena, providing a hiding space. But many mutts will roam these buildings, keeping most tributes away from the safety of the buildings. To the southwest lies a forest, also teeming with mutts, and at the farthest corner, a source of gathering that has been lost to the ages, stones broken and vines covering many of the seats. Lisia was already planning on forcing some tributes there to create a moment of drama.

 _Twenty-two, twenty-one, twenty…_

A river passes through the city near the northern wall, blocking the tributes from reaching a house still standing, fields full of food, pigs waiting to be killed for food. Lisia hopes that someone will attempt to cross the fast moving water, but is unconcerned if none do. She already has plans to use the space eventually.

 _Eighteen, seventeen, sixteen…_

But the main feature of the arena is the cliff that rises from the city and faces east. North and south of the cliff lie two fields, the former full of tall grass and the latter an open plain. Atop the cliff is where her tributes wait now, inside of a building partially broken down from age. The tributes stand on platforms with their District partner, all arranged in a U-shape that faces west where the Cornucopia awaits them, overflowing with gold weapons that shine in the late morning sun, food and water that is necessary for them to survive, and other survival gear to make them more comfortable and hidden. It was a bold move that Lisia made to not put the tributes at equal distances from the Cornucopia. She received protest from many of her Gamemakers, especially a few who noticed that she put One, Two, and Four at the far end. She made a compromise to that and put Five in the three platforms at the end but kept One next to them. She didn't want it to be too obvious to the Capitol watching that she had placed them farther away to make the opening more interesting as the trained tributes have to fight harder to reach the weapons before others.

 _Thirteen, twelve, eleven…_

And do they seem ready to fight. Ardos has been exchanging glares with Brody the entire countdown and she feels confident that the two will fight when they reach the Cornucopia. Lorelei is braced to make a run towards the Cornucopia but looks a little relaxed as she is the closest of her allies. Ryoko and Anabel both are looking determined to prove themselves, something that will provide drama should one of them die. But the pair from Two has her the most perplexed. Yes, they were her favorites due to their relationships with victors. And they had stirred up the most drama at the interviews last night.

 _Seven, six, five…_

Watching them now, Lisia feels her heart quicken in excitement, but that could also be from the games starting in mere seconds. Glacia has the most determined face, anger showing as her muscles are tense and ready to sprint forward at the sound of the gong. She will prove to be one of the most exciting tributes in the games. And Lance is looking around, face unsure as he prepares to start running, but not as prepared as Glacia. He glances to the left and Lisia knows his eyes are on Caitlin. She can't wait to see the drama unfold when they carry out their secret plan to meet up.

 _Four, three, two…_

Lisia takes a final look at her creation, grinning as she puts her hands together and leans forward, anticipation filling her now that her games are finally about to start. So many hours and tears went into this and its finally here. Everyone has loved the theme so far for the chariot rides and interviews, but little did they know that those were just the beginnings of it. She starts smirking as she watches her ancient Greek city, full of anticipation at the thought of watching her Quarter Quell.

 _One…_

The gong sounds and I take off, determined to reach the Cornucopia before all of the others can. Why did they put me at the far end of these building? Everyone starts taking off running as I do and I snake my way around the rubble in front of my platform. The boy from Three steps off in front of me and I quickly shove him aside, not able to waste any time as I have to get to the weapons. As I pass the tributes from Six, I hear a loud crack from behind me and my gut tells me that I just made the first kill of the games without even trying.

 _Deal with it later,_ Darach's words echo in my head as I focus on the weapons waiting for me at the Cornucopia. Some tributes have already started to reach it, those lucky enough to be placed closest. I force my legs to move faster when I see Cyrus grabbing bags and some weapons.

The pair from Eleven quickly grabs a couple bags and leaves before they run into trouble with others. Lorelei reaches the Cornucopia right before I do and grabs some knives scattered on the ground farther away and launches one into the back of the boy from Eight as he tries to grab supplies for his alliance.

But I don't waste my time with smaller weapons or some of the tributes running off quickly. My gaze is on the inside of the Cornucopia and I run in, staring in wonder at the golden weapons available to me. There are so many swords and knifes, even a few sets of bows. But where are the spears?

Commotion outside shows that everyone has arrived and started to fight. I start to grow panicked that they hadn't provided any spears for me to use when I finally spot one lone spear, tucked behind swords. I pull it out and turn around, ready to start fighting anyone trying to get weapons. I step out into the sun, looking around me. Ardos appears to be chasing after someone as they leave the bloodbath. Lance throws a knife at the girl from Eight and she falls as a red head darts away from him. I watch her go for a second, knowing I could kill her now if I wanted to. Yet I turn my attention back to the tributes around me, knowing there will be a time for that. I don't see Lorelei, Ryoko, or Anabel, but I'm sure they are fighting around the Cornucopia.

Cyrus has just pulled a long knife out of the girl from Six's chest and he spins around, eyes full of hatred as he sees me. The knife he's holding is dripping with the girl's blood and he has blood splattered on his shirt already. But I keep my gaze on him as he breathes heavily, knowing we are about to give the Capitol the fight they've been waiting for since I spoke out during his interview. "You," he points one of the knives he holds at me and don't flinch away when I feel a drop of blood hit my face. "You are so dead."

I give him a smirk as he approaches, feeling the adrenaline starting to course through my body from running. The anticipation of a fight is increasing this feeling and I feel ready to take him on. As he swings the knives in his hands, I know it could be dangerous fighting someone using two blades. But this is an unexperienced tribute and I can beat him with my bare hands.

I toss down my spear and moving into a fighting stance, much to the shock of Cyrus. He lets out a laugh at me doing this but I know he won't be laughing for long. "No, Cyrus, you're the one who is about to be dead."

He charges forward with a yell, swinging his right blade sloppily. The move was easy to anticipate and I quickly duck away, nailing a good punch to his stomach as I do so. He lets out a gasp at the punch as I return to my stance, fists raised and heart racing. Fighting hand to hand was one of my favorite training exercises and I've fought against trained men larger than him.

He waits a second to catch his breath before moving once more, this time an attempt to throw a knife at me. It misses my head by a few inches and I step forward as he focuses on using his one knife to hit me. I allow him to think I'm on the defensive, only giving a few punches as I easily avoid his knife. He seems to be tiring after only a minute of fighting, yet I'm just getting started. I realize that the crowd is going to grow bored of me doing this and after avoiding a swing near my left arm, I force my right palm up and slam it against his right wrist, forcing him to drop the weapon.

Cyrus clutches his wrist for a fraction of a second, long enough for me to punch him across the jaw. He staggers backwards, finally starting to look worried about the outcome of this fight. Yet it is too late for him. He never stood a chance.

He gives a wide swing towards me and I catch his hand and twist around him. With a pop, I feel his shoulder become dislocated and he lets out a scream of pain as he falls to his knees. With his dominate arm useless, he has zero chance of winning. I walk around so that I'm facing him, giving him another punch across his face. When he returns his gaze to me, his face is swollen and bloody, yet I can still see the glare he gives me. He spits blood at me and I scowl a little as a few drops hit me.

But I don't wipe it away yet, as gross as it is, because I know the crowd is watching my every move. I shake my head at him and notice him glance towards his left. I see the glimmer in the sun right as he lunges for a knife and I stomp on his hand. He lets out a groan of pain and I know I broke some bones. Now his hands are completely useless.

I smirk as I step off his hand and move directly in front of him. His breathing is heavy and his face is full of pain, yet he continues to glare up at me. "You're not going to win the games."

I raise an eyebrow at his taunt, curious how he could deny my ability to fight after I just destroyed him. But his opinion doesn't matter. Not when I'm determined to win. "Once again, you're wrong," I say as I put my hands on both sides of his head. Fear shows in his eyes when he realizes what I'm about to do. "Yes, there's a chance I could lose. But you will never win the games."

I give a sharp twist and hear the crack of his neck. I let go and his body falls over, the fear of death left on his face. I turn away from his unseeing eyes, knowing this is the first time that I've ever intentionally killed someone. I should be feeling something. But the only thing I'm feeling is the rush of a good fight.

I wipe the blood off of my face before hearing someone speak loudly, voice full of anguish. "No, Anabel, you can't die!"

Wearily, I turn to look in the direction of the shout, knowing what I see won't be good. Ardos is holding Anabel close to him, tears in his eyes as he holds the dying girl. And I know she won't survive as her shirt is soaked with blood. A chest wound. Lance and Ryoko are standing around Ardos, both looking sad at the small girl that is dying. Lorelei is halfway between them and me, watching me carefully as I approach, bow notched with an arrow that she seems to have been ready to use to kill Cyrus.

I give her a nod of thanks at this as I approach the pair from Four, heart still pounding from my fight with Cyrus. Anabel whispers something to Ardos and reaches up with a shaky hand, trying so hard to rest it on his face. Her hand slips down, leaving a blood smear on his face. Yet he doesn't seem to notice this as he puts his head down and pulls her closer to him. Yet I can see that her body has gone limp and I know she is dead.

Ardos lets out a muffled sob and I stare at him, not understanding why I'm not feeling any remorse right now. He just had a girl he considers as a sister get killed and yet… all I can think about is how there are five other bodies surrounding us. Include Anabel and the boy from three and we've had seven deaths already. Just the bloodbath has happened and one third of the tributes that must die for me to win have already been killed.

I turn my attention back to the Cornucopia around us, hating that I don't feel any sadness towards Anabel. Perhaps it will hit me later. But for now, all I can worry about is getting my spear and making sure it's not the only one. "It was the girl from Seven," Ryoko mentions and I glance over at Lance at this statement as I pick up my spear. His face shows guilt over this and I shake my head as I continue walking back into the Cornucopia. That girl that his is obsessed over just continues to cause problems.

I start moving aside swords of various sizes and lengths, searching for another spear. My hopes start to become crushed as I continue looking and haven't found one yet. There's only so many places where they could have placed a spear and it seems as if they have chosen not to. Was this another plan against me? Does Lisia not like me for some reason?

I pause from my searching as the cannons start to sound for the tributes who died in the bloodbath. I listen to seven cannons before there is silence. Already we've gotten rid of one third of the tributes that need to die for me to win. And two of those deaths were mine. This would be going great if it wasn't for the fact that I apparently only have one good weapon.

I step back out of the Cornucopia, holding my one spear tightly. Sure, I can use other weapons to fight, but I do my best when using spears. And if something happens to this one, well I'm screwed. I take a closer look at the blade of it and notice how dull it appears. I run a finger over it and it doesn't break my skin. "Damn it," I say aloud and throw down the spear in anger. They might as well have not even bothered to give me a spear.

I throw myself down to the ground, slowly accepting that I won't be able to use my favorite weapon. I can hear footsteps approaching me as I stare in front of me, starting to notice the arena I'm in for the first time. We appear to be on a cliff, if I'm seeing the sharp drop in front of me correctly. But I look to my left and see the ground sloping down and leading to a broken down city. But it looks like no city I've ever seen before.

"What the hell is that?" I hear the person approaching me say and I quickly stand up, turning towards Lorelei with my spear raised, as useless as it may be. She's pointing up at the sky to wait seems to be north, her bow in one hand. I look in the directions she's pointing, noticing something flying towards us. The bird is nothing I've ever seen before and I find myself surprised that the Gamemakers are sending out mutts so soon. I brace myself to throw my spear at it as Lorelei draws back her bow as it approaches us.

When Lorelei is nearly ready to let her arrow lose when I put out an arm to stop her from shooting the bird. "Wait!" I yell and she gives me a look as if I've lost it. I point to the bird that I can tell is now covered in beautiful red feathers. But it's what the bird is holding in its talons that has me stopping her.

"Is that a gift?" Lorelei asks in confusion as the bird slows down in front of me, blasting me with wind as it flaps its wings to stay airborne. I hold out my hand in front of me and it drops the package into my hands before it takes off. I stare down at it, confused over the silver cylindrical package. Is this how they are delivering sponsor gifts this year? "Well open it already," Lorelei urges me.

I pull the top off the cylinder and glance inside, seeing a note first. I'll grab it first and read it, smirking a little at the writing. 'Keep it up.' That's it. The only thing Darach could write to me. Yet it's so typical of him.

I slip the note into my pocket, wanting to keep this little note from Darach, even if it doesn't say much. I turn my attention back to the true contents of the gift and slide out a silver weapon, a small blade at the top. I know the shape of the blade and it should belong on a spear, yet this is not long enough. I turn it in my hands, the surprise at receiving a weapon finally settling in. This must have cost a fortune to send, even at the start of the games. I feel a small button on the side and point the blade away from me. Then I press it.

My eyes light up when the blade extends into a full length spear. I twirl it a little in my hands and it feels the perfect weight. I lightly touch the blade and can feel that this is very sharp. Darach knew exactly what was the right weapon for me and he got it for me. I start feeling overwhelmed with happiness towards my mentor and his ability to help me out.

Someone clears their throat and I snap out of it, turning to look at the people around me. Lance, Ardos, and Ryoko have all approached me, curious to see what the sponsor gift was that I received. I close the spear and tuck it into my jacket, refusing to let this be anywhere that I couldn't feel. "Well, we need to figure out a plan," I say and can tell that they are okay with this. I continue on, not letting someone else take control of my alliance. "First, we're going to need to move a small distance away so that they can remove the bodies." Ardos makes a terrible face at this and I wait to see if he says something. But he gives me a nod before looking away. "Then we will go through the supplies, everyone gets weapons, and then we set up a watch schedule and figure out what to do next. Sound good?"

I look at everyone and wait for some form of agreeance. Once everyone is on the same page, I give a nod and turn to look at the supplies around us, knowing we'll have our work cut out for us.

I stare around at the piles of supplies, happy to see that the Gamemakers have given us plenty of food, water, and tents. But that took a lot more time to reorganize than I would have liked. I doubt we'll be able to go searching for tributes today, even though I would have liked to. Yet the whole time, I was thinking about the two people I killed today. I don't feel anything about it, yet I kept hearing the snapping of their necks. Part of me wonders if it will hit me at some point but for now, I'm content to keep any feelings pushed back.

I gather everyone around, satisfied when I see everyone holding weapons or having them tucked into their jackets. "So watch schedules. We need to have someone watching at all times during the night. There's enough of us that we can have small shifts. I'll go first."

"I'll take second," Ardos quickly speaks up and I look at him curiously. His eyes are still sad but he seems determined to help out in the alliance still. I hope it stays this way as he will be a useful ally.

"The rest of you can figure it out later," I continue and point to the pile of tents. "Now, where are we setting these up?"

"How about inside the building?" Lance offers and we all look at the building that we started the games in. I think about it and want to take a closer look inside to figure out what exactly the building is and what exactly is the arena.

"Oh, why not," Lorelei says and I look over in time to see her give a shrug. "At least then we don't have to worry about tributes getting to us from behind."

I grab a tent and start walking towards the building, hearing the others starting to do the same. The building really is a good strategic spot as the only way anyone could get to us is from up the cliff. I enter the building, or rather what's left of it, and start looking around at the platforms. Fallen behind them appear to be statues and I approach the first platform on the left, staring at the statue. The face is worn away but appears to be a man holding a bow. Etched on the platform is a name I can barely make out. "Apoll?"

"Apollo," Lance says from behind me and I turn around to raise an eyebrow at him. He simply shrugs and points at the platform. "You can barely see the 'o' but based on the tributes from Eight starting there and the statue looks a little like their chariot ride outfits, I'm guessing it should say Apollo."

"Hmm, interesting," I'm mumble to myself and start walking along the left side of the building, staring at the statues that seem to keep resembling the gods and goddesses that we were dressed as for the chariot rides. Each platform has some name written on it, all in varying states of being worn. I pick up my pace to reach the platform we started on and stare at the word, curious to see if my theory is correct. "You can only see an A," I mumble and turn my attention to the statue of a man behind the platform. A broken spear is held in his hand and the remnants of armor can be seen. I glance down at the spear tucked into my belt, recalling the night of the chariot rides. Lance's footsteps grow louder as he approaches and I start smirking as I look around at the building we're in. I meet Lance's curious gaze. "It's some sort of building dedicated to the Greek gods and goddesses we were for the chariot ride." I point to the platform next to ours, "That one will be Zeus and the one next to that one will be Poseidon."

Lance glances around the building and I watch his face, seeing him starting to realize that I am correct. "I wonder about the rest of the arena…" he trails off and I look around at the others who are wandering around, staring at the building. Lance turns to continue but is interrupted by a loud scream.

I immediately pull out my spear and open it as I start running towards the south side of the building in the direction of the scream. "What was that?" I question as Lorelei runs up to me, bow notched and ready to shoot.

Another scream sounds as we jump over the rubble on the side of the building and reach the cliff edge. No one is on the cliff with us and I look around before turning my attention down to the field below us. An older girl is running towards the cliff, chased by a bizarre mutt that seems to have the face of a woman attached to some feline body but with large wings. The mutt is quickly catching up to the girl as the others line up next to me and watch this.

"Who is that?" Lorelei asks on my right and I simply give a shrug, not being able to distinguish who the dark haired girl is from our height.

"Aislinn, I think," Ardos answers quietly on my left as the girl reaches the cliff. She tries to start climbing it, causing Lorelei to draw back her arrow. But the mutt reaches her before she can climb more than a few feet and drags her to the ground and starts attacking her.

Aislinn's screams reach us and I watch for a few seconds before turning away. "Well, that mutt is going to kill her. That's one less tribute for us to deal with."

"That's terrible," Ryoko says as the girl continues to scream in anguish. I look over at him, surprised to see him looking somber and not his usual energetic self. And I agree, getting attacked and killed by a mutt really is a terrible way to die. But I can't complain when there's going to be one less person to kill.

I start walking back to the building, wanting to get my tent set up but freeze when I hear the twang of a bow letting loose an arrow. I quickly turn around to see Lorelei still posed with her bow now empty and the screams stop. A second passes before the cannon sounds for the girl. "What was that for?" I ask angrily, starting to get annoyed that Lorelei now has another kill. And it was a pity kill too. The Capitol isn't going to want to see a career kill out of pity, they want to have a good show and see someone get ripped apart by a mutt.

"Would you want to die like that?" Lorelei says with a huff as I keep walking away, feeling rage towards her now being tied with me for kills so far. I was supposed to have a lot more than the others, especially her. I step over the rubble and close my spear, letting out a loud sigh as I return to where I set down the large tent I picked for myself. "Whatever," I hear Lorelei mutter as the others all start returning to what we were doing before. Yes, whatever, Lorelei, for in a couple weeks, it won't matter that you made this kill because I will be the victor and you will be dead.

The sun continues to set in front of me, turning the city and forest stretching out in front of me orange in the last rays of light. The fire I sit in front of continues to crackle, each pop echoing the sound of Wattson's neck snapping earlier. Yet I feel no remorse or pity towards him. He would have had to die eventually so why not right away with the quickest kill possible and before he gets his hopes up? And Cyrus has barely been a thought since earlier. He was going to be one of my toughest foes and he's already gone on day one. Really, the rest of the games are going to end up being a piece of cake.

Ryoko sits nearby, staring at the fire and showing no emotions. Perhaps he's finally started to realize that this isn't as fun as he thought and needs to start taking things more seriously. Lorelei has stayed by her tent, refusing to be near me since I yelled at her. That's fine because I don't want to talk to her anyways. And Lance and Ardos are somewhere near the cliff edge.

The Capitol anthem begins to play and I look up at the sky, finding the Capitol seal in the northern sky. Then the faces of the dead tributes from today start to appear, starting with the boy from Three that I killed. I'm sure his family at home is cursing my name but I will take that if it means Grandma isn't mourning me. He is soon replaced by Anabel and I hear a sniffle from Ryoko. Surely her death is the reason he's stopped being so excited about everything.

The rest of the faces pass quickly. The boy from Five. The girl from Six. Both tributes from Eight. Aislinn. And finally Cyrus. The sky goes dark and the only sound left is the crackling of the fire. I stare past the fire as Ryoko stands up and walks towards the building. No one will sneak into the supplies without me knowing.

Eight deaths on the first day. Already about a third of the tributes are dead. I give my spear a little twirl and glance down at the ruby ring on my finger, reminding myself of what I need to keep fighting for. I turn my attention back towards the path down the cliff and smirk a little. Nothing will stop me from winning and returning to Grandma and Darach.

* * *

 **If you want more information about the stories, please go to my website at** **thefifthquarterquell . weebly .com** **! It is now updated through Chapter 12!**

 **Now, the next chapter might take a little longer than a week. I barely been getting feedback on these stories and I've lost some of my motivation to continue them right now. I'm focusing more on my new SYOT because it's really taking off and I've been getting some great feedback. I do want to continue this stories so it's not going on hiatus, there's just going to be slower updates.**

 **But if you read this and really want me to write faster, please let me know and I will make the effort to get the chapters out faster.**


	13. The Games Day 2

**Chapter 13:**

"Alright everyone, enough sitting around," I clap my hands as I stand up from around the fire, waiting until the others have turned their attention to me, most of them still finishing up their breakfast. "We have a busy day ahead of us. We need to make sure that we show the others that our alliance is something to fear."

"Are we going hunting?" Ryoko asks, picking his head up a little in excitement. But I can still see in his eyes the sadness that's been present ever since the games started.

I nod my head at Ryoko before turning my gaze to the others, trying to figure out how willing they're going to be to go along with this. They have to start realizing that this is the Hunger Games and they're going to need to be active and killing if they want to keep the Gamemakers from doing something to us. And I refuse to let the Gamemakers do something to me because I didn't want to play the game. Besides, this is what I've trained for all these years. Lorelei seems to be the only one willing to fight today as she starts slinging her quiver on her back. Too bad she's going to be disappointed in a few minutes. Ardos continues to stare into the fire, nodding his head but refusing to make eye contact with me. And Lance looks like he might be ready to start protesting this at any moment, which just further confirms that I must keep an eye on him today. "Ardos and Ryoko, you two should go explore the city. Lance, you'll be coming with me to the northern field."

Ryoko jumps up right away, face determined as he grabs Ardos by the arm and pulls him up, much to the older boy's annoyance. "Let's go, Ardos! Surely we can find someone today."

Ryoko's excitement is palpable, reminding me of how he was before the games started. He starts off down the hill and Ardos shakes his head before looking at me. "He didn't even think about grabbing food and water," he moves towards our piles at the front of the temple, grabbing a few items as he calls back to us. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him today."

I watch him as he starts following Ryoko down the cliff, Lorelei being silent near me and I ignore this for now as she's surely angry with me. Instead, I call after Ardos, "Best of luck finding tributes. I'll see you around sundown!"

"What the hell am I supposed to do today?" Lorelei speaks out and I return my attention to her. Unsurprisingly, she's glaring at me with her arms crossed. I knew she would figure out quickly that I was making her stay behind at our camp today. She's one of the biggest threats I have and I can't have her going out in the arena and getting more kills than me.

And I would never admit it, but she's the most capable of fighting someone off if they tried to get our supplies. I give her a small shrug and hike my bag up on my shoulders. "You'll be guarding the camp." I nod my head over to Lance who's watching us with apprehension. "Come on, Lance, let's get going. I've got enough food and water for us today in my bag so if you have your sword, we're ready."

I move to start following after Ryoko and Ardos who are nearly at the bottom of the cliff. I only make it a few feet before Lorelei calls out again. "Are you seriously going to leave me here today? I'm the most trained out of everyone after you!"

I pause for a moment, questioning if she might start a confrontation already. But surely she's smart enough to realize just how much of a bad idea it is for her to start a fight on day two of the games, especially with me. I slowly turn around, hand on my spear tucked into my belt. Sure enough, Lorelei is fuming right now. Lance is off to the side, glancing back and forth between us and it's clear he's trying to stay out of the way. But I keep my attention on Lorelei and raise an eyebrow at her, taking a few steps closer to her until only a foot of space is between us. "Do you have a problem with staying here?" I ask her coolly, hand still as I watch her carefully, noting her holding on to her bow.

With the short distance between us, we're both aware that I can get my spear open faster than she can notch an arrow and fire it. Yet seconds slowly pass by as we stare at each, Lorelei's face unreadable. Finally, she makes the right move and begrudgingly gives me a nod and takes a step back. "Fine, I will stay here. I guess I'm the most qualified to kill anyone who even dares to try and steal our stuff."

"With your bow," Lance speaks up and I look over at him, giving him a look that he better not say anything to cause a fight. "No one should even be able to get up to the top of the cliff."

Lorelei stands up straighter at this comment and looks slightly less angry about this. Somehow, Lance has managed to make her comfortable with this situation. "You're right." Lorelei says with a nod at Lance. She gestures to the north, "Now go. You're wasting daylight."

I turn towards Lance and give a nod towards the road down the cliff before taking off at a brisk pace, hearing Lance's footsteps behind me. I pull my spear out from tucked in my belt as we reach halfway down the cliff, knowing that there's a good chance we might find someone today and now that we're leaving our camp, I don't want to be unprepared to fight. With the sun shining down, I can't help but smile a little bit and pick up my pace as we near the city. This is what I've been training for years to do. And I am going to enjoy every moment in here.

Sure, I didn't picture Lance being in the games with me but oh well, I guess it's better to have untrained allies. More chance of me being the victor.

Lance let's out a small sigh as I head north before we enter the city. I stare into the ruins, thinking about where I would go if I wasn't from Two and trained. Surely the city would look inviting with its many hiding places. But I feel almost like I'm being watched as we pass by a couple buildings, making me think the city is full of mutts. "I bet there's a lot of tributes in the city."

"Hmm?" Lance mumbles and I glance back to see him stepping over a large piece of stone. He looks up at me and seems to realize what I said before looking around at the rest of the arena. I turn around and watch where I'm going, not wanting to trip over something. That would be a great way to embarrass myself and lose sponsors. "Yeah but the Gamemakers are probably expecting that. Who knows how many mutts are in there."

I nod my head a little at this, wishing he wasn't smart enough to realize how the Gamemakers work. I give my spear a little spin as we keep walking past open buildings, glancing inside in the odd chance that there is a tribute hiding that close to our camp. I keep my finger hovering over the button on my spear, ready to attack someone. But we don't pass anyone and soon we're in the open field, a short distance away from the tall grass that is definitely above my head. Someone has to be in there.

"That would be a good place to hide," Lance speaks up and I glance over at him, noticing him staring ahead at the field.

"I agree, that's why we're searching in there," I respond with a little sarcasm, wishing he would stop picking up on how to play the games. He looks over at me and I give a small shrug before continuing towards the grass. "Come on, let's get going. I bet someone is in there."

We briskly cross the fifty feet to the tall grass and I can feel my heart starting to beat faster at the thought of finding someone. All my worries before the games about not being good enough have nearly faded after yesterday and fighting against Cyrus. Because if I can beat him, who else is going to be a challenge? Ardos? Lorelei?

 _Boom._

I freeze in my tracks, just starting to push aside some of the grass. Another tribute gone. Not even 24 full hours in the arena yet and we're almost down to half of the tributes. I turn back to Lance with an eyebrow raised, feeling confident that these games won't last very long and soon I'll be able to return home to Two. "Perhaps Ryoko and Ardos have found someone in the city," I speculate as Lance looks odd about the cannon firing. "They did leave a little before us."

"Perhaps" he responds quietly as I turn around and start walking into the field, immediately losing sight over the top of the grass. I can hear Lance hesitate behind me before the rustling of grass indicates him following after me. Perhaps I should be worried about him walking behind me but honestly, I just don't think he has the guts to stab me in the back. I can hear a small growl in the distance, no doubt belonging to one of the mutts we saw from on top of the cliff. "Uh, Glacia?" Lance asks as I keep walking, not fearing the mutts because the Gamemakers aren't going to attack us. We're too exciting for them to kill us with mutts. "Didn't we see some mutts wandering around in here from up on the cliff?"

I glance back at him, grinning a little when I see how scared he looks at the thought of mutts. "Oh we did. Are you scared?" I taunt him a bit, amused by his reaction.

"No," he answers, not at all convincing that he isn't afraid of the mutts. It's a natural response and I would be scared too if I wasn't one of the only trained tributes in the games.

I chuckle a little at him and turn back around, moving further into the field. I spot some blades of grass that appear to be bent and extend my spear, questioning if it's from a tribute or a mutt. I can only hope that it's a sign that we're near a tribute. Lance keeps quiet as we walk on for a minute, my heart beating fast at the thought of finding someone. If we do, that will mean one step closer to me becoming victor. And as much as I always wanted to compete in the games, I've been missing home and want to see Grandma so bad.

I hear the rustling of grass, more than what has been caused in the wind and I pause, Lance nearly collides into me. I turn my head back and hold up a finger to my lips, motioning him to stay silent as I strain to hear if there is someone nearby. Sure enough, I can hear the faintest hints of a conversation. So there's at least two people.

I crouch down and hold my spear up, ready to use it if I catch sight of the tributes. As I start silently moving forward, adrenaline starts coursing through me and my heart rate increases. This is it. This is what I've trained for. I keep slowly inching forward, the voices becoming louder as I get closer to them. But as I get closer, the grass starts to thin and there's loud rustling and I can see movement twenty feet ahead.

I curse as I take off running after them, refusing to let them get away from me. I would be a lousy career if I couldn't catch these two in a race. I can hear Lance racing behind me but focus on the two ahead of me, slowly decreasing the lead they have. As the grass starts to thin even more, I can clearly see the two from Eleven ahead of me, both of them continuing to glance back in fear at me. Yes, they should be afraid of me.

I can easily make a killing shot with my spear as I race after them, but I refuse to risk my sponsor gift spear by throwing it when the coursing river is behind the tributes. No, I'll have to catch them on foot. I push my legs to move faster as the girl lets out a scream before tripping and rolling several feet. The boy looks back only for a moment before continuing to run away, smart enough to realize he can't save her and survive.

In a second I reach the girl and kick away her sword, sending it several feet away from her. I place a foot on her chest, feeling her struggle to push me away until I press my spear against her neck. As soon as she feels the blade, she stops fighting against me. "Please, please don't do this," she pleads up at me, tears running down her face.

Lance slows down next to us as I look at the girl, wondering if I should be feeling guilt that I'm ready to kill her. Instead, I just feel the thrill I usually get after winning a fight. And I know I can easily kill her. But who I'm not sure about is Lance and I want to see if he really has what it takes. "Lance, prove yourself." I move my spear away from her neck, keeping my foot firmly on her chest so she can't get away. I look at Lance expectantly, wondering if he'll be able to kill her. If he does, then I know I need to really be careful around him. If not, I get another kill and he looks bad in front of the sponsors. There's no way this won't benefit me.

It's clear he's struggling inside to do this as he moves forward and I start questioning if he will be able to go through with it. He crouches down next to the girl who is still crying and she starts pleading with him, "Please don't kill me."

I can't see Lance's face but I watch him set his sword down, hands shaking as he pulls out a knife. The girl keeps whimpering as he brings the knife up to her neck and I almost want to push him aside and get this over with already so we can try to catch her District partner. Finally, he cuts into her neck and blood starts pouring out as he quickly stands up.

 _Boom._

I watch Lance wipe the blood on his back and shakily tuck away his knife before turning to me. "Have I proven myself?" He asks me, voice a little shaky.

It's clear to me that it was a great struggle for him to kill the girl. Yet he did it. I still don't think he has the nerves yet to kill me unexpectedly. I give him a nod as I close my spear, leaning down to pick up Lanette's bag. I start rummaging through it, looking for any valuable supplies. "Yes," I answer him, finding mostly nuts and dried fruit. I pull one knife out before grabbing the sword and taking both to the river. I toss both in, satisfied at the splash from the sword. I'm not going to let someone else get to use these supplies. I turn back to Lance, seeing him still looking unsteady at what he just did. "Now, let's go see if we can find her District partner," I say, knowing he won't like this but I can't let another tribute slip away when he's so close. Besides, it would be good for me to get another kill. "He couldn't have gotten far."

My feet dangle over the edge of the cliff and I swing them as I watch the waves crashing below the cliff. The day had been long and I simply don't have the energy to talk to the others right now. Thankfully they've all started to realize this isn't a socializing event as more tributes start to die and the competition is getting smaller. The wind gently blows my hair around and I grimace a little at the smell of sweat from me that's mixed in with the smell of the ocean. It's going to be great to take a shower once this is all done. But as the wind slows, my thoughts turn back to appreciating the view in front of me and I understand why people would want to live in District Four. It's a rather nice arena that Lisia made this year and I'm happy that I'm somewhere warm and not in the arctic. And sure, I might not have caught up with the other District Eleven tribute today and be disappointed by that, but I can still appreciate the beauty of the arena. It's hard not to notice the little things in the arena when any moment could be your last.

Part of me wonders if I should have killed the girl and not given Lance that opportunity. But I had to know if he would kill someone when he wasn't in the middle of a fight like yesterday at the start of the games. Oh well, there will be plenty of opportunities for me to get more kills later in the games.

As the last rays of the sun fall from behind me, my thoughts turn to District Two. I can only hope I'm making everyone proud. And I hope I'm not continuously making Grandma and Darach anxious. I'm quite surprised by how much I've started to miss Darach since the games started. Being forced into the Capitol and the games has just made me get to know him so much more and now that he isn't here, I miss having someone around who I can talk to about anything. I smile out at the ocean, thinking about his faith in my ability to win.

"How am I doing, Darach?" I ask aloud, hoping the cameras will pick it up. I don't expect a response, but I like to picture him watching right now, cheering me on. "I hope I'm making you proud." I pause for a moment, realizing just how many people there are from back home in the training center that have helped me get to here. "I hope I'm making _all_ of District Two proud."

The only sounds are the waves crashing below on the beach and occasionally the wind will carry the sounds of the fire and some conversation from the front of the temple. A few minutes pass in a surprising peace that I didn't think I would have in the arena.

The anthem starts to play loudly throughout the arena and I turn to face the west, leaning back on my arms to look up at the Capitol seal. Finally, I'll be able to know who the other tribute is that died today since Ardos and Ryoko didn't find anyone. The first face to show is the girl from Ten and I briefly raise an eyebrow as I try to recall if this was one of the girls that was allies with Caitlin. I think she was. As the girl from Eleven's face appears, I turn back towards the water, hoping that maybe Caitlin got injured and Lance won't be able to successfully go through his plan with her, whatever it may be. I'm still a little surprised that he's still around.

Silence falls and the sky goes dark, leaving me to think about what to do next. I still think the city is where to find tributes but from what Ardos said today, I don't think it's safe for anyone to go there alone. Perhaps tomorrow I'll go there with the two.

My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a bird cawing and I look around to see one of the brilliant red birds flying towards me. Surprise fills me as it slows above me, blowing wind in my face as it hovers above me. I hold out my hands and it drops a package towards them, a silver parachute opening to slow its descent. I easily catch it as the bird leaves and open it right away, wondering what Darach might have sent me now.

My hands feel warmth as I pull away paper and catch a whiff of fresh bread. My mouth starts watering at the sight of the dark rectangular bread that can be found everywhere in District Two. I rip away a small piece and eat it right away, loving the taste of it after eating canned foods since we got here. It reminds me so much of home and of memories as a little girl with Grandma making the bread. I reach in to grab more and notice a note. I pull it out and unfold it, smiling at the note Darach has handwritten for me.

'We _are_ proud. Remember who you're fighting for and don't give up.'

I smile at the note, feeling my eyes water a little at the pride Darach and surely the others back in Two have for me. This bread is the perfect gift to tell me they're watching and yes, they are proud. I tuck the note into my pocket where the first note sits, wanting to hang on to it. I look around, wishing I could know where a camera is so I can look directly at it. "I have every intention of continuing to fight and I refuse to give up. I'll see you soon, District Two."

* * *

 **Hello there, I have returned to these stories! I apologize for how long it took to write these chapters. I lost a bit of the motivation to write these stories and I got caught up with writing my SYOT. But, I really do want to finish these stories soon.**

 **So that being said, if you want me to keep writing, _please_ _review._ It's the best way for me to know that people are reading and honestly, seeing reviews gives me SO much motivation to keep writing. **

**I hope the next chapter will be up soon!**


	14. The Games Day 3

**Chapter 14:**

I have to find another tribute today. I simply can't let the crowd get bored with me and my allies or else the sponsors will stop. But I feel good about today. Yes, today is definitely going to be a good day.

As we reach the flat ground at the bottom of the cliff, there's a bit of a bounce to my step as I twirl my closed spear and face Ryoko and Ardos. "Alright, no messing around today. I can feel it that someone is in that city and we are going to find them." I pause to expand my spear for emphasis. "And keep your guard up. While there might be tributes in there, I'm absolutely certain that there will be mutts. So let's not let our alliance go down for not paying attention."

Well, it would certainly make my job easier in the long run if one of them were to die today. But if any of my allies were to be taken out this early in the games, I'd rather it be the two we left behind today. Those two are actual threats. Now the giant bundle of energy and the depressed one in front of me? I can take them easily in a fight.

Ryoko takes out a knife and tosses it up into the air, catching it by the blade as it falls. "Nothing is going to catch me off guard!"

Ardos gives him a small shove forward towards the city and shakes his head at me as Ryoko laughs. "This is what I dealt with all day yesterday. Come on, maybe if you stay quietly we'll actually sneak up on someone." As Ryoko starts jogging into the city, Ardos follows after him and I see the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

I take one last look up the cliff to the cornucopia, wondering if I'm making a mistake leaving Lance and Lorelei behind today. But I shake this thought off, knowing that I can't change anything that might happen now. Who knows, maybe Lance will do something stupid and Lorelei will kill him.

I scoff at this idea as I start walking into the city, letting Ryoko lead the way. Wouldn't that be great. Unlikely that it will happen though. I bring my attention back towards my surroundings, feeling a chill run down my spine as we wander among the buildings. They didn't seem very tall from up on the cliff but among them, it's impossible to not feel uneasy at the shadows that seem too dark inside the buildings. "I wouldn't want to stay in here," I mumble to myself as Ryoko leaps up onto a large stone and looks around.

Ardos chuckles at this and glances over his shoulder at me. "Well you've been trained to know how to handle an arena and what areas are probably traps. Do you really think some of the younger ones realize this?"

"Guys, would you hurry up?" Ryoko calls to us, waving a lot at us to join him.

Ardos raises an eyebrow at me before nodding his head. "There's a good example."

"Well let's try not to let that one get killed today," I respond as we reach the stone Ryoko is on. Well, I wouldn't mind if one of them died today. That's why I've let Ryoko lead the way. Better for him to walk into a trap than me. Ryoko motions once again for us to join him and I sigh before climbing up the stone. He probably won't get down if we don't join him. Once I'm standing next to him, I realize this is actually a good vantage point and maybe we can see someone. "Alright, Ryoko, see anything?"

"Nope," Ryoko shakes his head at this, still smiling at us. I cross my arms at this as Ardos starts looking around the city. "I'm too short to actually be able to see anything. That's why I brought you two up here!"

I fight against the urge to shove him off of the stone for wasting our time. I take a deep breath, keeping myself calm and trying to avoid questioning why I had to end up with younger allies. Instead, I start looking around the city, still feeling uneasy but less so now that I'm several feet about ground level. Hopefully whatever mutts are in here won't be able to climb or reach this high. A small breeze rustles my hair and I cringe a little when I catch a whiff of how terrible I smell after not showering for a couple days. When I get back to the Capitol, I'm going to take a shower for at least an hour.

I return my attention back to the arena, knowing I really shouldn't let my thoughts distract me like that. It might seem like it's okay to do that around these two but I refuse to let one of them be the reason I die because I was too concerned with smelling bad. Now that we've stopped walking, the city is dead silent. There's no movement among the stones as I slowly turn, checking all around us.

Ardos suddenly pulls his trident up defensively and I instinctively do the same thing with my spear. "Did you hear that?" He whispers to us, eyes darting around in front of us.

"Hear what?" Ryoko asks, face alight with excitement. Ardos quickly shushes him and I strain to hear whatever it was that Ardos heard.

A minute goes by without hearing anything and I start questioning if Ardos is starting to go crazy and just imagining things. But then I hear it, a faint scream coming from the west. "Help me!"

"There it was!" Ardos whispers at the same time as I turn to face him, grinning as my heart starts beating faster in excitement. I knew I was going to be right about finding someone in the city today. Ardos sees my face and starts to smile. "You heard it."

I jump down lightly from the stone, turning to look up at the two boys. "Come on, let's go find some tributes. The boy screamed 'Help me' so there must be at least two tributes out there." I pause as the two jump down after me and I chuckle a little as the adrenaline and anticipation of a fight makes me excited. This is what I trained for. Not for dealing with little kids in my alliance, but fighting and winning. "We shouldn't let someone else get our kill."

I take off running, leading the way this time. I barely make any noise as I run – I'll have to thank Lysander for that training when I get back home – and I can hear Ryoko and Ardos following me, not nearly as quiet as I am. But it won't matter. By the time these tributes hear us, we'll be too close for them to get away.

We weave around fallen stone and buildings, this time I'm no longer concerned about the Gamemakers sending mutts at us. They won't do that when we're so close to reaching tributes. A couple minutes pass with us running, the screams getting louder. I bring us to a stop as I can hear stones rustling as the boy screams. "He sounds young. Be careful though, we don't know who or how many people are chasing him."

The two boys nod their heads at me, Ryoko for once staying quiet. But I can see on his face that he is excited about this. I put all of my attention into the screaming boy, refusing to mess up when we're so close to making a couple kills. As I start creeping around a building, I can hear him running closer to us. My heart is racing as I hold up a hand, making the two pause as I get my spear ready to attack whoever is waiting for us. Once the boy must be only a few yards away, I dart out and brace myself to attack as the others follow my lead.

The young boy lets out a scream at the sight of us appearing and freezes in his tracks. I look around carefully for whoever was following him before a woman steps out from the building to our right and walks calmly towards the boy. His face twists in fear before he freezes in place. A few seconds pass before his body has turned to stone and a cannon sounds.

My eyes widen at I look at the back of this woman and realize her hair is moving around. But it's not hair, she has snakes attached to her head. "It's a mutt," I mumble and the creature starts to turn around towards us and I feel myself freezing up in fear at this creature that just turned a boy to stone right before my eyes. Oh god, we're going to get turned to stone too and I'm already petrified to do anything.

But before we die, the mutt stumbles to the ground, a knife sticking out of its back. The snakes writher around before becoming still and I slowly stand up from my crouch, still hesitant to turn my attention away from it. "What the hell was that?"

"I-I don't know," Ryoko responds from next to me, seemingly just as shaken up as I am by that mutt. He slowly creeps forward, nudging the mutt's leg with his foot. It thankfully doesn't move and he quickly darts forward to remove his knife from its back. "How could a mutt turn a person to stone?"

I shake my head at this, feeling clammy all over at how close I just came to death and hating the fact that I froze up in panic. But the training center didn't prepare me to face a mutt that can kill with a look. "But at least it's dead now." I nod my head at him once, a little happy to see on his face that he is freaking out about this too. "Thanks for that."

"You're welcome," he says quietly before turning his attention towards Ardos as the older boy starts walking towards the boy that was killed. "Is he really turned to stone?"

Ardos taps the boy with his trident and the sound is loud. "Yeah…" Ardos responds unsurely as he turns to face us. "He's a statue now." He takes another look at the boy as I stare down at the mutt, still unsure about it. Ryoko lets out a small scream as the body starts to disintegrate in front of our eyes, turning into hundreds of tiny snakes that all slither off into the arena. I kick a few away from me as Ryoko hops from one foot to another to avoid them. Ardos stabs one with his trident that gets too close to him. "Damn it, I hate snakes."

"I'll take the snakes over that mutt any time," I respond and start walking over to the statue of the boy, his face twisted in fear for eternity. Once close enough, it's clear that he was one of the youngest. "Well, that was probably the least painful way to die. Anyone know who he was?"

"Was he the boy from Nine?" Ryoko asks and I give him a shrug in response. The younger boys really were not on my radar for threats.

"No, he was from Six," Ardos answers and when we look over at him, he shrugs a little. "I made sure I knew everyone and tried to figure out who the unexpected threats could be. Obviously he wasn't one."

I nod my head at this, mentally noting to keep a better eye on Ardos. I can't let myself forget that he's dangerous to me. "Well, it doesn't matter now because that's one less tribute to worry about. We're halfway there."

I pull up my backpack better on my back and stretch for a moment, muscles feeling tense from running and the excitement. "Well, how about we go eat some food and rest for a moment by the river? Then we can get back to searching and maybe find another tribute today."

They both look quite pleased with this idea and follow closely after me. Clearly they're both still shaken up by that encounter with the mutt like I am. And I sure as hell don't want to be completely surrounded by this city as we eat lunch.

* * *

I can't say I was too disappointed to not find anyone for the rest of the day after the excitement of the morning with that mutt. It definitely would have been nice to get one step closer to winning but honestly, I was a little scared that I would freeze up again. And I don't like admitting it, but it was actually a little fun spending the day with Ryoko and Ardos.

I scowl a little at this thought as we start walking back up the cliff towards our camp. I should not be having fun with these two. They need to die at some point for me to win. But I can't help but think about how if these two had lived in Two, I might have enjoyed showing them some things at the training center.

"I'm not sure if we'll find anyone else in the city," Ardos speaks up, breaking the silence as we're all tired from walking around all day. With how low the sun is behind us, the boy from earlier will soon be shown in the sky. I'm happy to have Ardos speak up and take me out of my thoughts and back into the reality of the games.

"Why do you think that?" I ask as I tuck my spear away, knowing no one is going to be attacking us now.

"Well don't you think we would have found them after two days of searching?"

I give a small shrug at this and Ryoko speaks up, exhaustion clear in his voice. "And with a mutt like that, I doubt anyone would want to stay there."

I think about this for a moment as we near the top of the cliff and I can see a fire that they started in our absence. My stomach starts to rumble at the thought of eating dinner as I look over at the two. "Yeah, you might be right. We should look in the forest tomorrow."

I freeze in my steps as we get closer to the fire and I see Lorelei sitting there, looking relaxed despite the bandages on her arms and leg that are covered in blood. In an instant, I have my spear out again and I'm tense and ready to fight. "What happened?!" I glance around, looking into the temple but not seeing Lance anywhere. "And where's Lance?"

Ryoko races over to Lorelei, dropping to his knees and his face full of concern for his District partner. "Lorelei! Are you okay?" She brushes him away when he tries to grab her arm that is bandaged up. "Did someone attack you?" He jumps up and pulls out his knives, spinning around in a circle as he tries to find the attacker. "I'll get them!"

"There was no attacker other than Lance," Lorelei mutters angrily as Ardos and I approach her. I immediately have my doubts about this and cross my arms as I stand in front of her. "He caught me off guard when I was sitting by the fire and then ran off."

My mind starts racing as my anger grows. There is no way Lance caught Lorelei, a trained tribute off guard. "You were both supposed to be on watch. How could he have caught you off guard?"

Lorelei scoffs at this and shakes her head. "I was on watch for other tributes, not someone who was supposed to be my ally!"

She might have a point, as much as I don't want to admit it. But that won't bring Lance back to the camp where I can watch him and make sure he isn't a threat to me. I knew this would happen eventually but damn it, I wanted it to be on my watch and when I could at least injure him as he left. I send a glare over at Lorelei, briefly wondering why she doesn't look worse with the amount of dried blood on her bandages. "Did you at least injure him as he fled?"

Lorelei shrugs at this, wincing at the pain the action causes. "I shot after him as he ran down the cliff but it was hard to aim when, you know, I was injured and bleeding. I think I hit his leg."

At this, I storm off towards the edge of the cliff facing the ocean and put my spear away now that there's no threat. How could she not know for sure if she hit him? I stop at the edge, feeling the air blowing against me, almost as if it's trying to push me away from the edge. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, wishing I could get rid of this anger. I don't know what I'm angrier about: Lance getting away or Lorelei letting him slip away.

My eyes shoot open and I glare out at the ocean. This story just doesn't seem to be adding up. Her right arm was injured and that's not the arm she uses to hold the bow steady. Injured or not, she should have had no problem fatally hitting him. Well, at least she hit him.

Wait… did she? I don't recall seeing any blood on the cliff as we walked back up. I glance back at my three allies, just in time to see Lorelei laugh at something. She doesn't seem bothered by this at all.

I turn my attention back towards the ocean and stare down at the bottom of the cliff. "Damn it!" I yell out at nothing, just angry that I don't understand what happened today. I had a bad feeling about leaving him behind today and I should have listened to my gut. That mistake won't happen again.

As I turn to head back into the camp, a movement on the sand below catches my eye. I crouch down at the edge of the cliff so I can look closer, questioning if my eyes are deceiving me. Almost hoping they are. But no, I'm right and in the sand below, a silver parachute gently billows in the wind coming off from the ocean. There's no way this parachute belongs to another tribute. It's common knowledge that you don't leave things behind in the arena that can giveaway your location. So who wouldn't hold on to their parachute?

I stand up slowly, absolutely certain now that Lorelei was behind Lance leaving. And she was rewarded for it by the sponsors. I take a few quick strides back towards the campfire where the three are sitting together. The anthem starts to play and I can just catch the Capitol seal in the sky as I pull out my spear, extending it as I get closer. Time to see how quickly the Capitol can add a face to their list of the dead.

With a quick arm movement, my spear flies through the air and lands in her neck. She falls to the ground instantly as Ryoko lets out a scream of surprise. I turn my attention towards the Capitol seal, just in time to have seen it flicker for a second to a face before returning to the seal.

 _Boom._

Lorelei's smiling face shows up in the sky and I start smirking. One less competitor. Lorelei's face fades away to the boy's from earlier and I turn to face my remaining two allies. Ryoko stares at me in shock as I walk over to them while Ardos is staring carefully at me. I pull my spear out of her neck, causing a gush of blood to pour out of her.

The anthem comes to a stop as I wipe the end of my spear on my sleeve calmly, surrounded by silence aside from the crackling fire. My anger has subsided, leaving me feeling satisfied that I made the right move. "I'm only going to say this once so listen very carefully to me," I say calmly and I know my voice sounds more terrifying now than it does when I'm angry. They'll listen to me, no doubt about it.

Before continuing, I point my now cleaned spear at both of them, watching the fear in their eyes at the action. "I know that Lorelei let Lance walk away unharmed today. I will _not_ let anyone do something against me and live." I pause to let that sink in as I bring my spear back and rest it on the ground. I might seem relaxed but both of them are trained and know I could strike in a moment. "Lorelei paid the price. Lance will pay the price when we find him and believe me. I will find him. Now, are we clear?"

Ardos is the first to move and I grip my spear tight, anticipating an attack. Instead, he nods his head at me. "We're very clear. If Lance wants to be on his own and away from the safety of our camp, so be it." We both turn our attention to Ryoko who is standing with his hands on his knives. "Think carefully before you do anything, Ryoko. You can't change what has happened."

It takes minute before Ryoko gives a defeated sigh and lets go of his knives, relaxing his posture. "Okay," he says, but there's a hint of his displeasure at this in his eyes.

"Good," I answer and close my spear. I tuck it away in my belt before leaning down and grabbing one of Lorelei's legs.

"What are you doing?" Ryoko cries out as I start dragging her body away.

"Moving her away from camp," I say effortlessly, surprised that Lorelei doesn't actually weigh that much. "They need to take her body away and I'm not moving away from camp for her."

Lorelei's body leaves a bloody path as I drag her at least thirty feet from the cornucopia. I make my way back to the cornucopia, a little bit of a skip to my step. As I sit down at the fire and start pulling food out of my bag, I hear the hum of a hovercraft behind me and know that they're taking away Lorelei's body. Ryoko and Ardos watch it but I keep my focus on getting my dinner heated up.

Well, Lance might be gone but I just eliminated one of the biggest threats in the arena. I wonder if Lance has found Caitlin yet. Maybe. Or maybe not. But tomorrow we'll go into the forest and surely Lance is there.

And once I find him, I'll kill him and all but guarantee my victory.

* * *

 _Lisia Arune, Head Gamemaker_

Lisia couldn't help but smirk as she watches the screens of the sleeping tributes. The Capitol is raving about how amazing these games are, especially after the events of today. And why wouldn't they? Their favorite District pair caused quite a bit of drama today, of course with the aid of her mutts. Her Medusa mutt will surely cause nightmares to children as they fear her paralyzing gaze. It's a shame that Ryoko killed her. Not that Lisia can't make another but still, Medusa was one of her favorites. And then the sphinx questioning Lance? So great. She would have let him escape if he answered wrong but it was more exciting for him to answer correctly.

As Claudia recaps the events of today, Lisia chuckles at the deceit she caused Lance with the empusa. The Capitol loves it too, but it's not really a surprise that they are enjoying the romance. They're all a bunch of saps. It won't last forever but Lisia is going to milk that story for all that she can.

Lisia drums her fingers against her desk at she stares at the faces of the tributes still alive. It's almost a shame that Lorelei is no longer on that list but it's not a surprise. Glacia made the right move in killing her. Lisia had watched some of her Gamemakers make bets throughout the day about whether or not Lorelei would die today. She didn't partake in the bets but if she had, she would have one. The suddenness of Lorelei's death will make the girl be talked about for a few more days. And don't forget to add in the fact that she's the girl who let Lance escape to meet with his love. Lisia chuckles at this, not quite understanding why some people in the Capitol are obsessed with Lance and Caitlin. They know that both of them can't win. But hey, if it brings up her ratings, she'll do everything she can to create drama with Lance, Caitlin, and Glacia.

Lisia glances down at the animated map on her desk and brings it up onto one of the screens. She draws a path from the edge of the forest, past a sleeping Lance, and towards the open area where Caitlin and Phoebe rest. She speaks out to no one in particular but knows her Gamemakers are listening to her, "Glacia will be going into the forest tomorrow. Make sure she follows this path."

"How should we do that, ma'am?" Irena calls from the right side of the room. "That path is straight through the dense part of the forest."

"Irena, you can change the arena at will," Lisia responds smoothly and taps her fingers again on her desk. "So change the forest. I don't care how, just make sure Glacia, Lance, and Caitlin end up at the same spot."

"Yes, ma'am," Irena answers before turning back to her station, typing away furiously.

Lisia stares for a few more seconds at the map before bringing it off the main screens. Her attention is drawn back once again to the pair from District Two. Her stars of the Quarter Quell. Lance is restless in the forest from the mutts she keeps sending past him while Glacia is restless on watch. Her victor will be one of them and it's only a matter of time before she knows who. Lisia has her guess but won't force anything in the final battle. But for now, she'll force them together.

Tomorrow will be quite interesting.

* * *

 **Hello everyone and welcome back to the Fifth Quarter Quell! We've finally reached the point where our two stories go separate ways woo! But clearly Lisia isn't going to let them stay apart for long haha.**

 **I'm really excited for you to see where this story is going! And games stuff is just always a lot of fun. I know my updates may be slow, but I will update. In the meantime, go check out my SYOT I have going on right now.**

 **So I'm curious, any predictions about who will end up winning? I still have a few chapters planned before we reach the finale.**

 **Well that's all I have to say, so I will see you all next time for Day Four of the games!**


	15. The Games Day 4

**Chapter 15:**

I knew the Gamemakers were on my side and supporting me, but I hadn't realized _just_ how much they liked me. Not until today.

It should not be as easy to walk through this forest as it is right now. From our camp, we can see the expanse of the forest and it's dense. And yet, we've been walking on a winding path ever since we entered the forest. It wasn't the easiest terrain to get through and I certainly have plenty of scratches on my arms from branches, but I haven't worked up a sweat and it's getting close to midday.

"Are you sure we're heading in the right direction?" Ardos questions, speaking up for the first time since we reached the forest, as I push back a branch and make sure it won't snap back and slap him in the face.

I give a small shrug and glance back over my shoulder at him. _Not at all._ "Of course," I respond, knowing the crowds don't want to hear about me being unsure. I turn back around and focus on where I'm walking so I don't trip and break an ankle. As we continue through the forest, I'm still on edge at every sound. I'm hoping to find Lance but there's a chance there's other tributes out here.

"And how are you certain that Lance is in the forest?" Ardos continues to question me, starting to put some doubt into my head. Am I just imagining this path through the forest? It's day four of the games. People have gone crazy on day two. So am I losing it?

I shake my head at this thought, confident that I would know if I was going crazy. And I'm glad Ardos is walking behind me and can't see the look of annoyance on my face at his questions. For a few seconds, I debate how much I should share with him about Lance. I can't let him know that I knew Lance would leave from the start but I certainly can't act clueless when I've been confidently leading him through the forest all morning. "One of the nights before the games, I overheard a bit of conversation with Lance and Roxanne, his mentor," I start the lie, slowly figuring out what I should tell him. "I didn't hear very much from him but it seemed like he was unhappy about our alliance."

Ardos is silent for a moment and I start worrying that I'm a terrible liar. But he soon speaks up, making myself feel better. "Did he say anything about wanting to leave?" I shake my head at this, not quite believing my lying skills to say out loud that he never mentioned leaving. Ardos lets out a sigh at this and I briefly glance back to see him shaking his head. "I could tell in training that he wasn't happy but I figured he was unhappy about being picked, not unhappy with us. And I didn't expect him to just leave like that."

I shrug at him before looking around at the forest, wishing there was a way I could talk to Darach. I just want to hear him say that I'm doing well here. "I'm not surprised," I mutter to myself.

"Why not?" Ardos asks accusingly and I hear him stop walking. I sigh and pause, turning around to face him. As he stares at me judgingly, I can see just how much he liked Lance and is personally offended by his betrayal.

"Because I know what it's like to be fighting for someone you love immensely back home," I answer honestly and lean against my spear as I face him. "And if you were the least trained person and therefore the weakest link in the alliance, wouldn't you feel safer on your own?"

Ardos contemplates this for a minute before giving a strained smile. "Fine, I probably would have done the same thing if I was him." I nod my head at this and resume my path – well, the Gamemaker's path – through the forest. We're silent as we walk through and I feel fine with Ardos walking behind me. But I suddenly remember some of Darach's advice and slow enough so Ardos is walking beside me. I will not lose because I got too comfortable with him. "So, is it like your new goal in life to hunt him down?"

Yes. I keep a smirk off my face a shrug at Ardos. "I'm hunting tributes who aren't in our alliance. Lance is no longer part of our alliance. So yes, I'm hunting Lance. And you should be too. He betrayed us."

Ardos nods at this and we stay silent for a while, continuing through the woods. I really hope the Gamemakers are leading us somewhere important today and not just in circles. Wouldn't that be embarrassing, the careers who wandered in circles all day. But up ahead, the forest seems to be thinning and more light is starting to reach us, allowing me to see the path through the woods. I let out a sigh when we reach the open path, turning to look back at where we exited the forest. Yes, there's a clear path so the Gamemakers must have wanted us here. But what was the point of leading us through the woods instead of letting us walk on the open path? We didn't even see any tributes.

 _Boom._

I raise an eyebrow in surprise at the cannon sounding and look at Ardos, seeing the same surprise on his face. But my surprise quickly turns to annoyance that the cannon wasn't caused by one of us. I can't help but think that if we don't find someone today, the Capitol will start getting bored with us and we'll start losing sponsors.

"We need to keep moving," I murmur before turning my attention to the forest on the opposite side of the path, not seeing any openings that look like where we're meant to go. I glance to the right before shaking my head, knowing we can't go back to our camp. So I set out down the path to the left, curious to see what awaits us at the end of it. "Any guesses at what's ahead?"

I glance over at Ardos as we pick up our pace now that there's no fear of tripping over branches. He stares ahead curiously before turning his attention to me. "A secret gate out of the arena that you can only access if you take a complicated path through the forest?"

I laugh loudly at his unexpected joke and Ardos grins at this, chuckling a little. "I hate to disappoint you, but I don't think that's what we're going to find," I sarcastically respond to him, still smiling at his joke.

"Oh darn," Ardos answers and snaps his fingers while letting out a dramatic sigh. "Here I was thinking there was an amazing reason we just wandered through the forest for hours."

"Hey, we totally could have seen a tribute," I respond, feeling like he's accusing me a little despite his joking tone. I'm about to make a sarcastic response when we catch sight of the trees thinning and see a low, curved wall at the end of the path. "What is that?"

"No clue," Ardos says, both of us serious once more. I didn't realize I paused until Ardos looks over at me, an eyebrow raised in question. "Do you think there might be a tribute there?"

"I think something's there, but I don't know if it's a tribute, mutt, or some sort of trap," I answer quietly as I tighten my grip on my spear. My heart starts beating faster at the little bit of fear of the unknown in front of us but I push the fear aside, reminding myself that the Gamemakers aren't going to target us with a trap. "Just be careful."

Ardos nods his head at this and we both move forward quietly. I can't help thinking that it would almost be nice if he wasn't careful. It would save me the trouble of having to kill him later and I fear that becoming harder if there are more moments where we get along.

But I can't afford to be thinking that much ahead right now. I need to be focusing on right now and make sure I don't miss anything that will get me killed because I have a people counting on me. Grandma. Darach. Hell, even Flannery and Serena are hoping for my victory.

As we approach the short wall, I crouch down and slowly walk towards it, staying out of sight of the gap in front of the path that seems to be an entrance. I press up against the wall as Ardos follows me, watching his face to see if there's any sign that he won't be able to do this. But his face is determined and he gives me a nod as he presses up against the wall next to me. I turn around and slowly creep up over the edge.

At first, all I notice is the giant wall surrounding us, but then I notice the slanting ground leading to a large raised stone platform at the very bottom. Encircling the platform are tiers of stone, all facing the platform. But then I see two girls sitting against the platform and my blood pressure increases. My hand grips my spear in anger as I crouch back down and turn to face Ardos. "Two girls. Near the back by the large wall. It's a giant circle that digs down into the ground, with probably ten tiers of stone circles between here and the bottom." I take in a deep breath and close my eyes for a moment, feeling my heart racing at the thought of finally, _finally,_ solving one of the problems that has troubled me from the start of the games. I open my eyes, ready to fight and can see Ardos watching me carefully. "The red head is mine."

Ardos nods his head at this and I can feel my heart racing in anticipation of not only fighting, but finding Caitlin and being able to kill her. I take a few deep breaths to focus on what I have to do. I can't afford right now to let feelings get in the way of this. Otherwise I'm never going to be able to make it out and back to the people I love. "Let's do this."

I jump up and start running through the opening in the wall, attention on the two girls. I can hear Ardos right behind me and as I run down the steps, I open up my spear and grip it tightly. They spot us and start scrambling, struggling to get up and grab their weapons so they can try to fight us. The girl with Caitlin looks downright terrified at the sight of us approaching – which she should be, we're two of the three remaining careers – while Caitlin gets in a defensive pose, holding her axe as if she's ready to fight us.

Before I get halfway down the stairs, something goes flying past me before the other girl lets out a scream as she falls to the ground, clutching a knife in her chest. Caitlin turns to look down at her ally as the screams quickly stop and the girl falls still.

 _Boom._

Caitlin starts glaring at me once again before jumping up on the raised platform behind her, clearly trying to get the upper hand by having the high ground. Not that it will work when I could kill her from at the top of the wall.

I slow to a stop as I approach her, keeping a decent distance between us in case she decides to throw her axe at me. Caitlin keeps glaring at me, her knuckles turning white from how hard she's gripping her axe. I start glaring at her as well, knowing that this girl standing in front of me is the reason I've had so many issues this entire time. She's the reason I could never get Lance to fully commit to my alliance.

But Lance is nowhere in sight right now. There's no one to stop me.

"Come on!" Caitlin yells at me, full of rage as she continues glaring. I raise an eyebrow in surprise at her being so bold and wanting to fight back. "Just come fight me already! I'm not afraid of you!"

"Well you should be very afraid of me," I respond to her, gripping my spear tighter as I keep feeling anger about her and Lance ruining everything. "Because I'm not going to give you a quick and easy death. It's going to be long and drawn out and very painful, because you," I pause to point my spear in her direction, making sure she knows I'm being very serious about this right now. "You're the reason why I have had to struggle since the first day of being in the Capitol to keep my alliance. Because you and Lance had to start sneaking around at night together! Well guess what! Lance isn't here right now to protect you! Or try to protect you," I let out a single laugh at this and shake my head at her. "No, Lance isn't here for you two to die together."

"Caitlin, run!"

"Lance!" Caitlin calls out as she looks over to my left.

Well shit, Lance _is_ here. I know the surprise must be showing on my face as I turn in time to see Lance running down the left side, sword out and staring at Caitlin. "Get away from her already!"

Oh this is good. Not only do I get to get rid of Caitlin, but also Lance? I shake my head at him as he jumps up on the platform and tries to stand defensively in front of Caitlin, just for her to step to the side and refuse to let him protect her. "Hello, Lance. Did you and Lorelei have a fun time together yesterday? I bet you did, otherwise she wouldn't have let you leave," I taunt him, seeing the anger grow on his face as Caitlin's gets a hint of confusion. "I'm sure you saw her face up in the sky last night. Don't worry, it was me that killed her."

"Go to hell, Glacia," Lance yells down at me, voice full of anger but his eyes showing fear. "I'm not afraid to fight you."

"Oh but I think you are," I respond coolly to him, seeing his anger increase with the taunts. I flip my grip on my spear, getting ready to throw it towards Caitlin. Yes, it will be better for her to die first. Then Lance will have to see her die and regret ever becoming allies with her.

All of a sudden, the ground starts to shake and nearly throws me off balance. Ardos throws out his arm and grabs on to my shoulder to keep himself upright as a fissure starts to form in front of us, spreading out and making a chasm that none of us can cross to get to our opponents. "What the hell is happening?" Ardos asks me as I watch the fissure stop growing, realizing there is no way for me to cross it without going back into the forest and wasting too much time. And I don't dare throw my spear out of fear that it will fall into it.

I relax my grip on my spear as I watch Lance and Caitlin stare at the fissure in confusion, still trying to figure out what it means. "The Gamemakers are voicing their opinion."

Sure enough, Lance and Caitlin realize what it means and start running up the stairs to the north, Lance continuously glancing back to look at me.

"What are you doing?" Ardos yells at me and gives my arm a push. "You're letting them get away!"

Once Lance and Caitlin clear the wall surrounding us, I turn around to the stairs we came down and start walking up them, closing my spear as I do so. "The Gamemakers don't want us to fight right now," I call back to Ardos as I keep walking, starting to hear him follow after me. "Come on, we're going back to camp."

* * *

"Wait, so really, the ground just started opening up in front of you? I could hear that from up here!"

"Yes, Ryoko," I respond for the third time, letting out a sigh and rolling my eyes at the boy who couldn't stop asking about what happened with Lance. Honestly, I wanted to just put it in the past because the more Ryoko asks about it, the more I'm questioning if that was what the Gamemakers really intended. I keep wishing there was a way for me to communicate with Darach and ask him if I'm making the right decisions because I'm starting to reach the point where I'm really just not sure anymore.

Ryoko is about to start speaking again as I stare at the fire, repeatedly stabbing the food in my can but not actually eating it. But Ardos speaks up, bringing the young boy to stop. "Ryoko, we've already told you everything that happened. There's nothing else to say about it besides the fact that clearly they don't want Glacia and Lance fighting yet."

Of course they don't want that yet. Lisia probably wants to save that for the big finale so they can keep hyping up our rivalry and make there be more drama than there really is. I let out a sigh before throwing my can down, making some of the food to spill out of it but just not caring. This is so stupid, I could have been two steps closer to winning today! And I could have gotten rid of Lance and Caitlin. Now they're going to have extra time to make the crowds like them and get sponsor gifts to help them out.

I'll just have to get the competition narrowed down. There's what, seven others left? Two are with me right now. Lance and Caitlin bring that up to four. So really, I just need to find three other tributes left. There's really so few left already for being day four of the games. That just means that I'm already so close to becoming victor and making it out of the arena. But why do I not feel excited by that thought or more relieved at the idea of getting out of here?

I'm brought out of my thoughts by a trumpet fanfare. "What the hell?" I mutter as I look around. It's way too early for them to be announcing the dead tributes from today. So what is going on?"

"Attention tributes!" A voice announces to us and I recognize Elliot right away. I share a look with Ardos, both of us realizing that this must mean something big is going to happen. "Congratulations on making it to the final eight! As I make this announcement, Claudia is already on her way to start interviewing your family and friends." As Elliot pauses, I can't help but have a small smile form. I hadn't even thought about the interviews with our families as the numbers have dropped so quickly. But it's a nice thought to think about Grandma and Mom getting interviewed, and probably any other victor that is watching the games with them. Bronn, definitely. Kat is probably going to stay away from the interviews since she hates them. But I can see Jory being there and getting excited about seeing Claudia again.

"Now, we have a surprise for all of you," Elliot continues, drawing me back to the present. I raise my eyebrows at this, feeling like a surprise from the Gamemakers is not something good. "To reward each of you for your valiant efforts at making it to this point, you will each be able to pick a gift. Just one gift. Think long and hard about what you want this to be. This gift could mean the difference between life and death."

Elliot falls silent, almost making me think he's done before realizing he's trying to let his words soak in. One gift. Anything we want? I glance around me, knowing that I have pretty much everything I need right here.

"All you need to do to receive your gift is to simply speak out loud and tell Lisia Arune what you want. Then, tomorrow morning, there will be a feast held at the Cornucopia at sunrise and you can claim your gift. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor."

The arena falls silent once more except for the crackling of the fire in front of me as his announcement settles on all of us. And all I can think about is how I just want to see those I care about, but I can't get that here.

"Well they're certainly trying to keep things interesting," Ardos finally speaks up, breaking the silence among the three of us.

I nod my head in agreement at this, not really excited about the feast. There's nothing I can think about asking for right now. I have food, water, and a great weapon. What else could I need?

An opportunity to get rid of some of the remaining seven tributes and that's exactly what the feast will give me.

Ryoko is oddly quiet as I stand up so I turn to Ardos. "Do you have first watch?" He nods his head at this as I pick up my abandoned can of food, feeling a bit hungry now that I know I have a way to get closer to getting out of here. "Good. Get me in a few hours. I'm going to rest now and figure out what to ask for."

"Sounds good," Ardos answers quietly as I start walking towards the temple.

What should I even ask for? I let out a sigh as I keep walking, just having no clue what to ask for because I can't think of anything that I don't have already. This feast is definitely more beneficial to those outside of our alliance.

"Hey Glacia!" Ryoko calls out, making me pause near the temple. I let out a small sigh and take a step back as I turn around to see what he wants. But as I do so, a knife goes flying past me, grazing my cheek.

I'm left standing in shock as Ryoko runs towards me, grabbing another knife out of his belt and just looking absolutely ruthless. Where is this even coming from? I thought he was just an excited kid. I'm still in shock as Ryoko reaches me and I barely duck out of the way as he makes a swing towards my neck. "What the hell? What are you doing?" I shout as he starts moving quickly around me, constantly trying to strike me with his knives. And damn this kid is fast.

"I have to win! And you're the biggest threat!" Ryoko shouts at me and I don't have a chance to grab my spear out of my belt as I have to use my arms to block both of his. Yet despite my best efforts, I can still feel myself starting to get scratches from his efforts. Once my shock has faded away and I can feel the adrenaline starting, I start thinking like a fighter and kick out my leg, striking the back of Ryoko's legs.

Ryoko gets knocked to the ground as Ardos runs over, trident raised as he looks at both of us. "What's going on?"

I can see the switch in Ryoko's eyes as he turns from ruthless back to the normal kid we're used to seeing and I grab my spear out of my belt, glaring down as he starts to plead to Ardos. "Ardos, help me! She just started to attack me out of nowhere!"

"Liar," I spit out, filled with anger at him first trying to attack me and now trying to get Ardos to turn on me. Ryoko turns his eyes back towards me and realizes his mistake just as I open the spear and stab it down through his chest.

 _Boom._

Before I can pull my spear out, I feel the sharp points of Ardos's spear pressing against my neck. I flicker my gaze over to him, noticing right away how confused he looks by all of this. "Explain," he whispers to me and I can see sadness in his eyes. I make a slight movement with my hand and he presses his trident harder against my neck, making a small amount of blood start dripping down my neck.

I slowly release my spear and hold up my hands as I stare at Ardos, my heart racing in fear that he could very easily kill me right now if he wanted to. I keep my left hand close enough to his trident in hopes that I can knock it away but that's going to depend on realizing he's about to strike. So I keep my eyes locked on his. "Ryoko just tried to attack me."

"I don't believe that," Ardos responds right away, not moving his trident away or closer to me.

"I don't believe it either," I answer truthfully because who would have expected Ryoko to try that? I've been underestimating him this entire time. "But you heard him yelling."

I can see Ardos hesitate at this and feel the pressing of the trident lighten slightly. "I-I don't know what I heard."

"Ardos, if I had really attempted to attack him, why would I not have my spear out sooner than when you were running over?" I pause as I see him starting to doubt Ryoko. At least, I hope he's doubting Ryoko and not me. "Look at how many scratches I have on me right now from him attacking me. There's no way that would have happened if I was prepared to attack him. And if you really don't believe me, see this cut on my cheek?" I point at my face, keeping my hands where they are. The cut on my cheek is definitely bleeding steadily, dripping down my face and probably onto my shirt at this point. "If you don't believe me yet, there's a knife behind me that he threw at me and that's what cut me."

Ardos's eyes flicker behind me before we stare at each other for a few seconds. Finally, Ardos lets out a sigh and pulls his trident away. I rub my neck, probably just covering it in blood but feeling too relieved that he believed me. "It's just so hard to believe that he would do that," Ardos finally whispers as I take my spear out of Ryoko's body.

"I know," I answer honestly and shake my head at Ardos. "But we stopped him. If I hadn't killed him, he probably would have killed you too."

Ardos looks upset at this thought before he turns away from me. "I'll go grab a first aid kit for you," he mumbles over his shoulder before heading towards his tent. I start slowly walking after him, starting to feel the pain of the places Ryoko cut me and also hearing the tiny splatters of drops of blood. Ardos starts rummaging through his tent before returning with a box of bandages. He hands them to me silently before heading back towards the Cornucopia, thankfully allowing me to be by myself.

I head out towards the back of the cliff, starting to feel really shaken up by how close I just came to dying, not just with Ryoko but also with Ardos. I let my guard slip and it nearly cost me my life.

I sit down near the edge of the cliff, discretely brushing away a tear that's threatening to fall as I start pulling out antibiotic wipes. As I start cleaning the wound on my face, it stings so much and the tear finally falls, but at least I can blame it on the pain of the wipe. I can't believe I allowed myself to let my guard down like that. I nearly _died._

Every day that I've been here, I could have died. But it wasn't until stupid Ryoko tried to attack me that it finally has set in that there's a chance I might not get out of here alive. I've been so damn cocky this whole time instead of being careful, assuming I could get through this because I had the most training.

I shake my head at myself as I start placing bandages on the cuts, the white of the bandages a sharp contrast to the layer of dirt covering me and my clothes. Good, it will be a reminder to not be an idiot and underestimate anyone and not to overestimate my own abilities.

I sniffle as I finish up, staring out at the ocean. God, I just want to be out of here already. Why did I ever want to volunteer for this? That was so _stupid._

"Lisia," I say out loud before taking a shaky breath, knowing my request is silly and I should ask for something serious that will help me. But this _will_ help me. "I would like to have a letter from my mentor, Darach Westmann."

* * *

 **I know, this chapter was long overdue. But oh well, life has been busy and I've been focused on Overlooked and Wayward. Which, you should totally check out because they're awesome and Wayward is a partial that's just getting started with the intros.**

 **But anyways! What did you think? I'm hoping I can get the next chapter done soon. There actually won't be too many games chapters left.**

 **Thanks for sticking around even when I take forever to update this. The next update will happen eventually. I promise I'm not giving up on these two stories. Thanks for reading and I'll see you for the next chapter, whenever that may be!**


	16. The Games Day 5

**Chapter 16:**

I could barely sleep through the night, no matter how much I told myself that I needed to get rested for the feast. It was almost a relief when Ardos approached for us to switch who was on watch as it gave me something to do instead of staring up at the top of my tent. I just couldn't stop thinking to how close I came to dying and letting down everyone I'm fighting for.

I fight back a yawn as Ardos and I wait for the feast to start from the front of the temple, staring directly into the mouth of the Cornucopia that was now cleared out of supplies thanks to my need to stay busy. No one was going to get any extra supplies today from the feast.

"How do you think they'll do it?"

"Huh?" I ask Ardos and turn to look over at him, confused by what he's asking about. "How are they going to do what?"

He nods his head in the direction of the Cornucopia before turning to look at me. Dark circles surround his eyes and I take a little solace in knowing I wasn't the only one who could barely sleep last night. "How do you think they'll give us our gifts? Most times they usually bring the gifts up on a table but I feel like it will be different because it's a Quarter Quell."

I shake my head at this as I yawn loudly. "I don't know and don't really care as long as I get my gift."

Ardos stares at me curiously, "What did you ask for?"

"It doesn't matter," I answer quickly, not wanting to explain to him what I asked for. I turn away from him, not liking the look of pity in his eyes. But when I turn my attention towards the Cornucopia, my eyes widen in surprise. "Uh, I think that's your answer," I say as I point in front of me.

Ardos turns to look at what I'm pointing at. "What the…"

Seven absolutely bizarre mutts stand in a uniform ring around the Cornucopia, staring out in front of them and not moving. They look like a woman, even having the face and body of one. Well, if you ignore all the feathers covering them and the claws they have for hands and feet that look very dangerous, and the pair of wings they each have. They each hold a bag in their left hand.

Each mutt is slightly different in appearance. I can see three clearly in front of us. The one closest to us has dark brown skin and feathers covering her body, black hair, and a pair of purple wings. The one to the left of it has golden blonde hair, tan feathers and skin, and a pair of deep sea blue wings. But as I stare at the mutt to the right, a shiver runs down my spine.

Blonde hair. Pale skin color and feathers. And blood red wings.

"Ah shit," I mutter as I look around at the other mutts, recognizing one with bright red hair and another one with similar red wings but brown hair on the far side of the Cornucopia. I turn back to Ardos, seeing on his face that he hasn't figured it out yet by the confused look he gives me. "There's a mutt specific for each tribute. Mine is the one to the right, just in front of us," I say and point over at it. As I'm turning back to look at him, I take a look at the one on the left and shake my head a little. "And I'd take a good guess and say that yours is the one with the blue wings there."

Ardos's face starts to pale a little and I turn my attention back towards the mutts carrying our gifts. Of course they couldn't make it simple for us. "Okay, so now what? Why are they all just standing there?"

"I don't know," I hesitantly answer as I pick up a rock and toss it near the mutts. They don't react at all to the rock and I shake my head. "Well my guess was that motion near them would make them move."

"I have an idea," Ardos says slowly and I look over at him, not sure if I trust his tone. "But you might want to have your spear ready to go."

I open up my spear as he picks up one of the extra tridents next to him. He tests the weight of it for a moment before throwing it straight into the heart of his mutt. It falls to the ground as the head of mine swivels over to look at me with ice blue eyes.

Like a spell has been broken over them, they all come to life, some of them screeching. Mine immediately starts moving towards me and I start running towards it, bracing myself to fight it but also making sure I don't get injured by it. A trident goes flying past me, this time striking the chest of the mutt that had been between mine and Ardos's.

I get close enough to strike my mutt, having to dodge a swing of its claws to avoid getting attacked. The claws catch on my jacket as I reach up and strike my spear into its heart, causing it to start screeching before falling to the ground. I yank my spear out and pick up my light bag, throwing it onto my shoulder as I hear a shrill human scream.

I look around and see the girl from Five getting attacked by her mutt next to me. As the mutt is distracted, I throw my spear into its back and it falls over on top of the girl. I quickly run over to take the bag before someone else can claim the girl's gift, this bag a lot heavier than my own. I look up just in time to see Ardos stab his trident into the neck of the boy from Eleven as he tried to claim his bag from the harpy that Ardos killed. Ardos looks up from the boy and makes eye contact at me and I shout over to him. "Take his bag!"

Before I can see his response, I continue walking around the Cornucopia. One mutt with brown hair and silver wings is just standing there, staring around but not attacking anyone. It's an easy target and I don't trust it to not turn on us eventually so I grab a knife from my belt and throw it into its chest, making it collapse to the ground.

It's then that I realize how quiet it is around us and I look around, seeing the bodies of seven dead mutts. Seven… I glare down at the mutts for Lance and Caitlin that are further down the hill, angry that I missed an opportunity to attack them because I had been too busy fighting mutts that weren't even mine.

But I look back at bodies and realize that there are two tributes among them. Only five of us left now. "Who's the fifth person left?" I ask Ardos as he approaches the silver winged mutt that still holds onto its bag. "Did they not show up?"

"I'm not sure," Ardos responds as he grabs the bag and starts looking through it. "Whoever it is, they must be pretty desperate since they only asked for food and water."

"It doesn't matter, I suppose," I mutter as I drop the girl's bag on the ground. It makes a loud clinking noise when it hits the ground, making me curious to what's inside. I close my spear and tuck it away before crouching down and reaching in the bag. I chuckle a little as I feel a familiar weapon and pull out a shining gold crossbow. I give it a little wave to Ardos as he holds a scythe from the extra back he grabbed. "Clearly these two were looking to win with their gifts."

I start grabbing the crossbow bolts out of the bag and tuck them away in my jacket pockets. This weapon I'll hold onto. Ardos starts to walk over to me, "But it doesn't matter anymore since they couldn't fight off the mutts."

"And now there's five left," I say before we both fall quiet, aware that we make up a majority of the remaining tributes.

We share a knowing look and Ardos lets out a sigh. "Glacia, I'm willing to stick with you until the end. I know you probably won't believe me but I'm not going to turn on you."

"You're right, I don't believe you," I answer and he chuckles a little at this and I smile a little. "But I think we can keep working together." _And I'm not going to put my guard down around you at all._

Ardos nods his head at this and I stand up, taking my new weapon with me. "I'm going to open my gift in private, if you don't mind."

"I want to do the same so of course I don't mind," Ardos gives a small nod before I start walking back towards our set up camp. I quickly cross through the temple until I reach the far side. At the edge of the cliff, I set down the crossbow before sitting on the edge of it, swinging my legs as I swing my bag around. I carefully take out the folded piece of paper, holding on to it tightly in the wind.

As soon as I open it, I recognize Darach's absolutely terrible handwriting and it brings a small smile to my face before I start reading it.

' _Glacia._

 _First I feel obligated to say that you wasted your opportunity to get an amazing gift from the Capitol. But second, I feel flattered that you think so highly of me that when you're in the arena and capable of getting_ _anything_ _, you chose to hear from me. Maybe we're both stupid. Who knows?_

 _But right now, I can imagine what you're feeling and it wasn't until I thought about what you're going through that I realized why you requested this letter. The first real threat on your life in the arena is always the most terrifying, and you just had two attempts in a matter of minutes. I know Ardos was being smart and trying to protect himself until he knew what happened, but still. It's a terrifying thing. Even I was scared when I had that moment and it wasn't until I was fighting in the final three. Just for a second, I want you to think about what it felt like when Ardos was holding the trident against your neck – but not too long. Now imagine that, except you have two tributes fighting you and all of a sudden you have hot lava running towards you from all angles that can kill you and the only thing you can do to avoid it is to run. Yeah. That's what my moment was._

 _My point is, you have to take this moment, and use it to fuel you. So you messed up and got a little too comfortable with your allies. It can happen to the best of us. But you've learned from this mistake and I'm damn sure you're not going to make that mistake again. You're stronger now from that because you're aware of your weaknesses. If you can use your weakness to strengthen you, no one can take advantage of that weakness. Now I'm not saying to go run off and reckless. But use a bit of caution from now on and just watch out for Ardos._

 _At the time of writing this, there are seven tributes left, including you. Now you better make it to there being only one tribute left. But before that can happen, you're going to have to fight Lance. There's no question about it. Ever since you two ran into each other and the Gamemakers separated you, that's all the Capitol has been talking about. Maybe I'm a little crazy for writing this, but I truly think that the victor will be from District Two this year. Just make sure you don't underestimate him or allow your feelings to get in the way of making sure you're the District Two victor._

 _I believe in you, Glacia. I know you're capable of winning. You just have to make sure you stay focused and remember why you're fighting. For your grandmother. For your mother. For me._

 _I'll see you soon in the Capitol. Keep fighting._

 _Darach'_

I clutch the letter to myself, not realizing just how much I needed to hear from Darach. He's right, it was stupid for me to ask for a letter when I could have gotten anything, but this letter means more to me right now than any weapon. And hearing that he had a similar moment to mine last night just makes me feel like I wasn't overreacting.

But his words about the remaining tributes fill me with a sense of dread. There's only five of us left. I'm so very close to making it out of here but yet, there's so much I still have to do if Darach is right about Lance.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a moment. When I open them, I smile up and hope the cameras will be on me. "Yes Darach, we're both stupid. But you know what we'll both be soon? Victors."

* * *

I had thought for sure that we would be able to find the fifth tribute remaining today, but apparently that would be too much action for the Capitol with the feast happening earlier today. Really, it had been wishful thinking that we could reach a point where the games would end in the next day or two. But the forest was vacant and it's getting late. Much later than we normally stay out when searching for tributes.

We walk at a quick pace, both of us seemingly anxious to get out of the very dark forest that is turning eerie with the fading light. And I'm glad that there are so few left that we can leave our camp unattended because I wouldn't want to be in here on my own. "Tomorrow we'll find them," I try to sound encouraging to Ardos but when he glances over at me, I can tell he doesn't quite believe me. "We will. We have to find them when we're so close to the end."

Before Ardos can answer, the anthem starts to play, a sign of just how late it has gotten. We both turn our attention up to the sky, barely able to see through the trees the Capitol seal that changes to first the girl from Five and then the boy from Eleven. Only two deaths today but they were such a significant number of the remaining tributes this morning.

As the anthem stops, I hear a wolf howling, close enough to set me on edge. "We need to get back-" I stop as I look over at Ardos and he turns to me, curious about why I stopped. I don't see his reaction to my face but I know it must not be great because I can't turn away from the pair of glowing eyes behind Ardos's shoulder. Before he even has time to turn around, the mutt leaps forward at him and starts ripping into his neck.

I stumble as I try to get away from the terrible half man, half wolf combination that is attacking Ardos. As I try to run away, I keep bumping into trees in the nearly pitch black forest. I smack my head against a tree branch and fall to the ground, feeling a little stunned. As I put my hand to my forehead and lightly touch the tender spot, I'm surrounded by silence. Not a single sound.

I look around hopelessly, trying to see if I can see the mutt before scrambling to my feet and running once more, this time keeping an arm up in front of me to block branches. God, that creature had been so terrible. And the way it had started ripping into Ardos…

Ardos.

Shit, he's cannon hasn't fired yet. I pause to look back in the direction I ran from, briefly considering running back to help him. No. There's nothing I can do for him. That wound is too deep for saving. Yet there are no screams from him.

I start running again, still tripping over branches but starting to see the trees thin and moonlight slipping through. Once I clear the woods and realize I'm in the city, I come to a stop and carefully look around, starting to feel even more uneasy by the city. I escaped one terror just to enter another.

 _Boom._

I close my eyes for a second, feeling bad that I couldn't have done something to help him. But I recall the look on his face as it started to attack him and immediately open them, hating the sick feeling in my stomach. He had looked as if he was ready to die.

Maybe he was.

I unhook the crossbow from my belt and load a bolt before starting to walk through the city, trying to put the image of Ardos being attacked out of my head. I can see the cliff off to the east and know that I have a long walk ahead of me but I refuse to go back through the forest. Every small noise has me spinning around, keeping the crossbow aimed. I am _not_ going to get attacked by a mutt in here. I can't. I simply can't.

Hopefully Lisia won't send a mutt at me. After all, we're now at the final four.

The final four… The end of day five and we're already in the final four. And I know for sure who two of the three others are, and the third must not be a threat if I can't even figure out who they are. Right?

A scream off in the distance has me spinning around in an instant, searching the area I had just walked through. I knew this area was full of mutts and that's why I didn't want to go through here, damn it! Unless Lance and Caitlin found the other tribute… No, the screams are heading in my direction and I doubt they would draw out the death.

As the person gets closer, I grip the crossbow even tighter, silently hoping that I still know how to shoot this thing accurately. A boy starts to come into view, weaving around buildings and stones as he keeps glancing back, his face full of terror. District Seven. That's who the other person is. But then I catch sight of the terrible mutt chasing him and I know I'm going to have nightmares about all of the mutts once I'm out of this arena.

This one still has the upper half of a woman – what is up with all of the half women mutts? – except it appears almost dead with gray skin, and just skin and bones. Its eyes glow bright red and its black tangled hair flows behind it as it runs after the boy. No, not run, _slithers,_ because it has the lower half of a snake.

I shiver a little at how disgusting the mutt is as I raise up the crossbow, tracking its movements as they both get closer to me. Then, I take in a breath and hold it before pulling the trigger. The bolt strikes it in the shoulder and it lets out a terrible ear piercing shriek as it looks over at me. I throw the crossbow to the ground and scramble to get my spear out before it decides to turn around and head back the direction it came.

I let out a sigh of relief that I don't have to fight that disgusting thing before picking up the crossbow and attaching it back to my belt. But that's when the boy notices me and lets out another scream before trying to turn and run north, but trips over a piece of stone. I run over to him, still feeling on edge and uneasy by the mutt as I open up my spear. He tries to crawl away from me but bumps into the side of one of the broken buildings. As I approach him, he stares up at me with wide, scared eyes. "Please, don't."

"I have to," I tell him, but mostly myself as I start to hesitate. I think about Darach's letter in my bag and I'm reminded that this boy is what stands between me and finishing up these games. Because surely Lisia will bring Caitlin and Lance to me to fight once this boy is dead. "I have to win and only one of us can make it out of the arena." I pause for a moment and take in a deep breath as I brace myself to stab him with my spear. "And that person is going to be me."

The boy starts to scream once more as I bring down my spear, cutting off the scream as I pierce his heart.

 _Boom._

I yank out the spear, feeling uneasy about his dead body in front of me. But I push aside the feelings like Darach suggested. This is no time to start feeling guilty about killing. Not when only two more people stand between myself and victory.

I take off once more towards the Cornucopia, walking quickly through the city as a small bit of fear courses through me at the thought of that mutt or a different one appearing. But the fear is for nothing as I finally reach the edge of the city with no other mutt sightings. I keep my spear out as I start walking up the path towards the Cornucopia, even with how unlikely it is for me to run into Lance and Caitlin now.

But before I can even start walking up the hill, I freeze and stare up at the large mutt waiting for me in front of the Cornucopia. It easily stands above my height and wouldn't be too terrifying since it's a large dog, except for the fact that it has three growling heads. I let out a sigh at this and prop the end of my spear against the ground and lean on it. It makes no move to attack me and we simply stare at each other for a few seconds before I take a step forward and it growls loudly at me. "Okay, I guess I'm not going back to the Cornucopia." I let out another sigh, unsure what Lisia wants from me and I figure the best option is to just ask out loud. "So where am I supposed to go?"

The mutt just stands there for a few seconds, making me think that I'm just going crazy for thinking that talking to it would instruct me where to go. I let out a loud sigh and start to turn around to start walking who knows where when the mutt begins to move, making me freeze as it starts to walk towards me. It slowly walks past me, making no move to attack me but the closest head does turn to growl at me. Once it's a few feet past me, it pauses and turns back to look at me before continuing to walk towards the river.

I start to follow the mutt, feeling just a little bit crazy for following the mutt but trusting my gut instinct that this is what Lisia wants from me. After all, Darach's letter said the Capitol has been waiting for me and Lance to fight. So surely she won't have a mutt attack me. Right?

As we start to approach the river, I can barely see in the moonlight the water starting to shift in front of us before finally a small wooden bridge has risen up. The mutt stares at it for a moment before turning all three of its heads towards me. I stare across the river at the fully standing house, the fields of food, and even some animals running around. The entire time we've know that we couldn't get across the river, yet here I am.

I take a slow step out onto the bridge, feeling it's sturdy before continuing across the river on the narrow bridge. Of course Lisia didn't want us going over here yet. This will be where she's planned her finale.

Tomorrow, this will be where the games end. This is where I will become the victor.

* * *

 **Well, here we are, one chapter left before the end of the games. So yeah, maybe I'm making the games short but sue me, I want to make them short. But yeah, a lot happened in this chapter, so what did you think?**

 **And since the next chapter will be the end of the games, who do you think will be the victor? I'm curious to see who people guess.**

 **I should be able to get the next chapters out quickly, or at least a lot faster than this one was. Mostly because I'm really hyped to write out this final fight. In the meantime, go check out Overlooked and Wayward as I update those a lot more frequently!**

 **Alrighty, see you next time as we wrap up the games!**


	17. The Finale

**Chapter 17:**

Two more kills. Two more kills stand between me and getting out of this stupid arena.

I rub my eyes, fighting against my exhaustion as I stay crouched in the window of the house, searching the open field between me and the river constantly, waiting for any motion that signals that the final battle is about to start. I fight a yawn as I keep staring out in front of me, simultaneously bored and extremely tense. What can I say, I'm not the most patient person. But I think anymore would grow impatient in this situation, knowing they're so close to the end of the games and getting home, yet so far at the same time. Just two more tributes to go.

It would have been nice to only face one other person in the finale. Certainly would make this easier for myself. It also would have made my odds just a bit better and right now, I want every advantage that I can get. But, I suppose it could have been worse. A lot of things could have been worse about these games. Looking back, I don't know how I ever thought I could have fought and won the games with a normal set of careers. I almost let a twelve-year-old get the best of me…Surely I wouldn't have been able to beat five trained careers.

Why did I ever want to enter the games?

Stupid. I was so stupid. However, stupidity is not going to get me out of these games. Years of training will get me out of here alive.

Another yawn escapes and I stand up for a moment, stretching and trying to wake myself up. For the first time since entering the games, I knew there was no threat of another tribute killing me in my sleep. But it took hours to fall asleep and once I did, it was the worst sleep I've ever experienced. Nightmares constantly filled my head, images of the mutt chasing Riley through the city. Images of Ardos' throat being ripped apart by the wolf mutt. Images that will surely torment me for the rest of my life.

I shake my head in an attempt to clear out these thoughts. I can't worry about that. Not when I have two tributes I have to take down to become the victor. But instead of feeling excitement like I always imagined at reaching the end of the games, I just feel a sense of dread coursing through me. The other thought that kept me awake creeps back into my mind, making me start scowling. The two remaining tributes aren't just random people that I never knew before the games. One of them spent the last five years living down the street from me. One of them has an older sister that I will have to face every day as a fellow victor, look her in the eyes and know that I killed her brother. Just the thought of that sends my stomach twisting in anxiety and guilt.

But isn't it better to return and face that than not return at all?

A terrifying roar sounds through the arena, snapping me immediately out of my thoughts. I chill runs down my spine at the sound because to be that loud…the creature must be huge. I grip the knife in my hand even tighter as I search the field in front of me, silently praying that whatever it is, I don't ever have to fight it. Haven't I seen and faced enough terrible mutts already? Motion to my left catches my eye and when I look over, I nearly drop my knife in fear at the creature chasing two figures, barely visible over the top of the grass, racing through the field on the other side of the river.

Well, this is it. Surely this is Lisia Arune's way of starting the finale of the Fifth Quarter Quell.

And what a way to start the finale. I have no doubt that this mutt will also feature in my future nightmares. The creature is easily twenty feet tall with five serpent heads attached to its body, all staring intently at the two people it chases from the sea and through the tall grass. Lance and Caitlin reach the end of the tall grass, allowing me to see them as the race along the river, faces full of fear and holding on to each other's hands as they run away. One of the heads of the mutt opens its mouth and spits out a ball of fire that lands in front of them, forcing them to run around it, still holding on to each other. The sight of them still holding on to each other in the face of almost certain death makes my stomach twist with guilt. How can they still care so much for each other when in just a short amount of time, all but one of us will be dead?

But I push this thought back, knowing there will be another time to worry about the guilt of the games, once I know I am safe and alive. As Lance and Caitlin get closer, a different head on the mutt opens its mouth, taking aim for a few seconds before spitting out a terrible looking green ball.

Whatever the mutt spits out strikes Caitlin in the leg, making her fall to the ground as she lets out a terrible scream. From my spot, I can see the ground where the ball struck after hitting Caitlin burning. If that is what it's doing to the ground, how can Caitlin ever hope to survive with it burning her leg? _Come on, Lance, just leave her behind and come fight me._ Yet the stupid man stops for her as soon as she falls and desperately clutches her leg. She's still screaming from the pain as he pulls her up from the ground and lets her use him as a crutch. I shake my head at him as they hobble forward and the river starts to shift in ahead of them, revealing the bridge I walked across last night.

They race towards it, the mutt gaining on them now that they're slowed by Caitlin being injured. But once they've stepped foot on the bridge, the mutt lets out another terrible roar – so much more intense than before now that it is closer – and comes to a stop, letting them pass safely from one danger and straight into another.

The pair seems unaware of my presence in the window of the house as they run towards it, having to slow down when Caitlin cries out in pain once again. As they get closer, my heart starts to race, knowing that this is it. There is no time for me to hesitate. Hesitate and it just might be mean my death. I adjust the grip on my knife, feeling my palms start to sweat in anticipation for what's about to happen. Everything in me wants to just throw the knife at Lance and bring him down now, give myself an easy and guaranteed win against Caitlin. But as I take my aim as they get closer, I find myself hesitating, unable to aim my knife at Lance. Unable to kill Lance yet. "Alright, Glacia, time to finish this," I mumble to myself before throwing the knife at the wrong target.

Almost right away, Caitlin lets out another ear piercing scream, this time as she clutches the knife embedded in her stomach to the hilt. She falls to the ground, blood slipping through her fingers and I scowl a bit at my aim being off. I had wanted to strike her chest to get an instant kill. This is what happens for hesitating instead of just throwing the knife at Lance when I had the element of surprise. Yet, with that wound…well, we might as well be at the final two. Lance drops to the ground next to her, taking one of her bloody hands and clutching it tightly while the other puts pressure on the wound, futilely trying to stop it from bleeding. "No, Caitlin, no! Come on, you can't die. Not yet!"

His actions once more give me a terrible pit of guilt as I slowly move out of the window. But at the same time, adrenaline starts to course through me and I try to focus on the anticipation of the fight as I throw open the door, letting it slam against the side of the house. Lance looks up at the noise and quickly wipes at his face, just smearing Caitlin's blood all over before scrambling to pick up the sword he dropped when he knelt down besides Caitlin. I start walking towards him, feeling my heart racing at the sight of him, knowing that this is it. One final tribute to kill and then I get to go home. Yet as I pass my spear to my right hand, an uneasy feeling passes through me. It's not over yet. "Hello Lance."

"I should have known it would end like this," Lance calls out to me as he starts walking towards me, holding his sword defensively in front of him. His movements are stiff and that's when I notice the set of armor covering him. That will certainly make things more challenging, but not impossible. "From the start, they never stopped talking about us. The two victor relatives from District Two."

I adjust the grip on my spear, feeling my palms starting to sweat in anticipation. "It's certainly an exciting way to end the Quarter Quell," I call out to him, bracing myself to start fighting as the distance between us closes to less than twenty feet. "The two victor relatives from District Two. Well, our District is going to have a victor this year."

Lance pauses to spare a quick glance back at where Caitlin lays on the ground, still clutching the knife in her stomach as her chest raggedly moves. When he turns back to me, his face his full of anger and sadness at the sight of Caitlin dying. But did he really expect her to win? She couldn't, not if he wanted to live. "That victor is going to be me."

I laugh at this, trying to sound confident and hoping to hide the small bit of hesitation and doubt coursing through me. "No, Lance, it's going to be me. I'm the one who has trained for years for this," I can feel my voice starting to waver and take a deep breath, hoping to calm my nerves. I can't mess up. Not now when I've reached the finale. "I was the one chosen by the victors to volunteer before the Quell twist was announced. The title of victor has always been mine to claim, not yours."

Before I can hesitate any further, I lunge forward, striking out towards Lance with my spear. The action catches him off guard and he's slow to react, trying to deflect my spear with his sword. My spear strikes his stomach before bouncing off, unable to pierce through the armor he wears. We both pause at this realization, staring at each other before Lance starts to grin and I can feel a scowl growing on my face. This is definitely going to complicate things. "Are you sure about that?"

Lance strikes out, trying to hit me in the leg and I easily block it before spinning out of reach of his sword. As so the final battle of the Fifth Quarter Quell starts. We start circling around, both watching each other carefully and waiting for the next move. I let myself fall into the routine of fights, watching carefully and feeling like my spear is an extension of my arm. This is what I've trained for. I know how to fight and watch for weaknesses. And that's exactly what I need to do now. I let Lance try to attack, easily blocking him once again as I study his actions, trying to find some sort of weakness in his armor.

It's hard to tell how much time passes as we play this game, Lance swinging out in sloppy, untrained movements with his sword, I easily blocking him, and then I attempt to stab him to figure out where there is a weakness in his armor. This must have been what he asked for the feast. He was smart, meanwhile, I was so stupid in asking for a letter for the feast when I should have asked for armor. Then there would be absolutely no chance of him beating me.

In a brief moment of distraction at considering my past stupidity, Lance makes a lucky strike on my left arm and I cry out at the pain of the cut. It starts burning right away and I can feel a trail of blood dripping down my arm. I spare just a second to ensure that it isn't deep before bringing all of my attention fully on Lance, anger starting to course through me that I let my concentration slip enough for him to injury me. I let out a cry as I start moving quickly, making all sorts of swings of my spear that don't do anything against his armor. Lance's face shows fear at my anger and he keeps bringing his sword around to try to block my strikes, only still alive right now from his armor blocking my spear from piercing him. I tire of striking his chest, wanting to pay him back for the injury to my arm, and with a quick flick of my wrist upwards, I slice open his cheek, making him stumble back in surprise and hold up a hand to his face. Lance's face shows disbelief that I actually managed to injure him and he stares at the fresh blood on his hands. I smirk a little at his reaction before faltering at the sight of bare skin on his stomach as he holds up his hand to his face.

There. I try to keep my face clear of any emotions, not wanting to give him any hint that I have discovered a weakness in his armor. That small gap between his shirt and pants that shows just enough to slide my spear through when he raises his arms to attack. But the problem is, if I strike, I'll be leaving myself open to his attack and with no way to block him. Lance gets over the shock of his injury and gives another swing of his sword that I dodge easily before letting out a cry as I pretend to go for his chest, both of us knowing by now that it will do no good.

We start the dance again of Lance swinging and me easily blocking, but this time, I have a new goal in mind: watching for an opportunity when Lance will reveal that small sliver of skin again. Lance brings his arm back to get a wide swing of his sword, giving me the perfect opportunity to stab him.

And yet…I wait and instead block his attack easily. But now that I know what attack to look for now. Lance's actions start to grow sloppy as he clearly starts to grow tired from the fight. Meanwhile I feel like I can keep going for a long time.

Time flies as it simultaneous slows as I wait for Lance to make another strike that I can use to injure him. When he finally makes a large swing, I brace myself to attack him, hoping I haven't miscalculated anything or else, there's a good chance I might die by leaving myself defenseless. Even if I am right, there's still a chance I might die. _Please let the Capitol get me fast enough when this is done._

As Lance starts to give a wide swing of his sword, I lunge forward, throwing myself to the ground and rolling before coming up on my knees, at perfect height to slip my spear under his armor and past his ribs. I cry out as I throw the spear forward with both hands, using all of my strength to make sure I make a deep enough wound to kill him. Just as I see his sword about to hit my side, the spear punctures deep into his stomach, making him gasp in pain.

But despite him flinching at my attack, the momentum of his sword brings it crashing into my side and at first I feel the force of his swing. I scream out in pain as the wound feels like it's on fire and let go of the spear still embedded deep in his stomach to grasp at my side. Warm, sticky blood starts to pour over my hand, my efforts to stop the blood seeming useless. A bit of bile rises in my throat as I feel not just blood threatening to spill out of the wound. My eyes start to blur from the intense pain and I nearly fall over as Lance also drops to his knees, stupidly pulling out the spear from his stomach and putting his hands over his wound to try and stop his own bleeding.

 _Boom._

I breath heavy as I stare at him, fighting to keep my eyes open through the pain in my side. My brain is slow to register the sound of the cannon, fighting against the pain and shock starting to fill me. Lance is dead. No, not yet. Caitlin is dead. _Just one more._ Only one more death and I'm the victor.

Except my breath is shaky as I stare at Lance and I struggle to stay upright. My breath becomes ragged as the pain is overwhelming, preventing me from thinking about anything other than the wound. It's bad, so bad. Except I can't die now, not when I'm so close to winning and getting back home to Grandma and Mom and Darach. Back to the people I love.

Lance falls over to the ground and I see the world spin before I feel myself slam against the ground and I groan at the pain in my head as it hits the hard ground. "No," I whisper feebly, putting both hands on my side in a feeble attempt to keep myself from bleeding out. "I can't die like this."

In front of me, Lance makes a gurgling noise in an attempt to speak and I try to reach for one of the knives tucked in my belt to finish him. I have to kill him now before it's too late. But my hand is heavy and soon drops to the ground, unable to grasp at a weapon.

My vision starts to go black with all the blood that I've lost and I desperately cling on, refusing to give up.

 _Boom._

I did it. I'm the victor. I smile to myself as the darkness fully takes over but a small bit of doubt fills my head. _Was that my cannon or Lance's?_

"Ladies and gentlemen, your victor of the 125th Hunger Games…"

* * *

 _Lisia Arune, Head Gamemaker_

"Get the medical team down there, now!" Lisia shouts out as soon as the last cannon fires, stopping some of her Gamemakers from cheering in excitement at the victor. Yes, many of them had made bets amongst themselves about who would win. Lisia hadn't participated, not wanting to show outright favoritism, but she had her choice. And she was right.

As the announcement is made about the victor for the Quarter Quell – her Quarter Quell, as she will surely go down in history for this event – Lisia anxiously watches the hovercraft appear above her victor, a doctor dropping to the ground and starting to give the victor blood right away. Their tracker still shows their erratic heartbeat and that's enough for Lisia. It's enough to know that her victor is alive and the doctors will be able to save them.

Soon enough, the victor is on the hovercraft and immediately taken into surgery to repair the deep wound made in that final fight. Lisia still watches them, making sure her victor will survive. The doctors make quick actions, caring more about survival than appearance. They can worry about that later.

Once the victor starts to stabilize, Lisia finally relaxes in her seat and slowly starts to grin. She did it. She created and saw through the Quarter Quell.

"Well done, Miss Arune," a voice teases from her left and Lisia glances over, grinning at the sight of her long term friend and most trusted coworker. Fabio brushes back his long curly hair dyed a brilliant gold as a demonstration of his favorite District in the Quell. "Everyone will be talking about this for years."

Lisia closes her eyes at this, smile still on her face as she finally feels like she can relax. "I did it." When she opens her eyes, Fabio is staring intently at her and he starts to grin as well. "I think I need a drink." Fabio laughs at this as Lisia stands up, stretching out her tense muscles from anxiously waiting to see who would be victorious. "Now excuse me, I'm going to go to the hospital so that I can overlook the surgery."

"Of course," Fabio responds, still grinning at the end of the games. "You really did a great job with these games. Congratulations."

* * *

 **We have officially made it to the end of the games! I know, I know, that was mean of me to not reveal in these chapters who ended up winning. But I needed to give a cliffhanger! The victor will be revealed in the next chapter for each story, with a look at the two victor relatives. So, pick which story you read first carefully because you will be spoiled.**

 **So, how was this chapter? To be honest, it was hard for me to write this and I put it off for a while, simply because I really love both Glacia and Lance, and I wasn't ready to say goodbye to one of them yet. Who do you think is the victor?**

 **Next chapter should be up fairly soon because I love writing my victors. Thanks for reading this story and I'm excited and sad to see that we're nearly at the end of them!**


	18. The Victor

**Chapter 18:**

 _Sylvia Skylar, Victor of the 81_ _st_ _Hunger Games_

All Sylvia can do is stare at the screen in shock, her heart racing as she barely hears the cheering around her. "Mom, she did it," a voice whispers from her left and Sylvia looks over at her daughter when she takes her hands tightly. Tears are in the younger woman's eyes as they turn back to the screen, watching as the screen is split between Glacia's face with _'Victor of the Fifth Quarter Quell'_ displayed below her picture, and a doctor reaching the ground and immediately checking Glacia's pulse. "She's coming home."

Sylvia shakes her head, still full of too much fear at the sight of Glacia bleeding out on the ground. She went through the games. She knows how dangerous it is to lose that much blood. "She's not safe yet."

To her right, her closest friend places a hand on her shoulder. "They'll save her, Sylvia," Bronn tries to sound comforting, yet his voice betrays the worry that matches hers. "They are not going to let anything happen to their victor. We both know how much they care about their victors."

"Yeah, Sylvia, she did it!" Jory says excitedly as he moves in front of the victors sitting on the couch, partially blocking the screen with his big grin. "I told you she would win, no problem. Why do you think we picked her to volunteer this year?"

Bronn politely pushes Jory out of the way so they can see the screen once more and Sylvia finds herself grateful for the youngest – no, no longer the youngest, that's Glacia now – victor's excitement for Glacia's victory. Yet she can't feel excited yet until she knows Glacia is absolutely safe. She nods her head at Jory but her throat feels dry as she watches Glacia's paling body be taken into the hovercraft and doctors immediately set to work, giving her much needed blood and stitching up her wound.

Her phone rings, making her jump at the sound as she has been so focused on watching the doctors work. Jory jumps up from the ground and runs over to get it, something Sylvia is grateful for as she just can't deal with people calling her to congratulate her on Glacia's victory right now. She can hear Jory's muffled voice as he talks to whoever, her attention still on the screen and her granddaughter. Why did she ever let Glacia train and want to volunteer? She never should have done that. She should have known that it would be too painful to watch this.

When the screen cuts away from Glacia and the doctors, she lets out a sound of protest but falls quiet when she sees Claudia Flickerman appear. "Ladies and gentlemen, I know you're all very worried about our most recent victor, because I am feeling the same way. But we have just received news that she is stable and they are taking her to further surgery. So sit tight as we will provide regular updates on her recovery! Again, congratulations to our newest victor, Glacia Skylar of District Two!"

"Uh, Sylvia?" Jory hesitantly calls over to her as she closes her eyes, feeling relief course through her at the news that Glacia is safe. Her daughter gives her a hug, no doubt feeling the exact same way. Maybe even worse. "Darach is on the phone."

Sylvia opens her eyes immediately at this and turns so she can stare over at Jory in disbelief. "And you didn't think to tell me this immediately?" She motions him over and he runs over, face full of guilt as he holds out the phone. "Give me that," she mutters as she snatches the phone out of his hand. She holds it up to her ear, her daughter leaning over so she can also hear the conversation. "Darach?"

The line is quiet for a few seconds and Sylvia starts to wonder if the connection was lost before she hears a shaky sigh. "She did it," Darach mutters and Sylvia almost doesn't hear him. "I promised you. I promised I would get her home."

Sylvia hears a sniffle from the other end and shares a look of surprise with her daughter. "Darach…are you crying?"

"Of course not," Darach scoffs at this immediately, but Sylvia can hear him sniffle once more. "I have something in my eye."

"Okay," she says carefully, not wanting to start arguing with Darach over the phone right now. She can hear people yelling in the background and furrows her eyebrows in concern. "Where are you?"

"Waiting outside the operating room that they're bringing her to," Darach lets out a sigh, falling quiet as Sylvia's heart rate picks up in concern for Glacia. "It's chaos here. They almost didn't let me come to the hospital, but when I started demanding they take me," he pauses to let out a laugh and when he continues, Sylvia can hear amusement in his voice. "Well, they took me here right away. I think they were a little afraid of me."

Sylvia shakes her head at this, but finds herself smiling a little at the thought of Darach scaring some Gamemakers. But her smile quickly fades as she hears more yelling in the background. "Darach…are they going to be able to fix her?"

"Absolutely," Darach answers immediately, but his voice betrays a hint of fear for Glacia. "They have ten doctors here, all ready to start working. There's no way anything will happen to her, so stop worrying."

"Are you telling me or yourself to stop worrying?" Sylvia asks him, feeling surprise at how much it sounds like Darach is worrying about her granddaughter. "I'm still going to worry until the moment I see her on stage and well again."

"That might be a few days," Darach hesitantly pauses for a moment and when he continues, his voice is a lot quieter. "From what I've heard from the doctors, she's in really bad shape."

"You saw that injury," Sylvia tells him, already aware that Glacia is in bad shape. It's why she couldn't tear her eyes away from the screen, even after she was announced as victor, until Claudia said Glacia was stable. And even then, her stomach is still twisting in worry. "Darach… Just promise me one more thing."

"Anything."

"Don't abandon her when she wakes up. Your job as a mentor isn't over yet," Sylvia shakes her head at this, even though Darach can't see her right now. Her thoughts go to her granddaughter and what happened to her throughout the games, all the terrible sights that she knows will keep haunting her, because even now, nearly fifty years after her own games, she still is haunted by her own memories. "You know as well as I do that no one gets through their games unharmed. Don't abandon her now. She may be out of the arena, but the games aren't over. They're never over."

"I would never do that," Darach answers her, sounding offended at even the suggestion that he might not stick by her. This brings a smile to her face and a little bit of comfort that she knows her granddaughter won't be alone once she wakes up, however long that may be from now. "Whether she likes it or not, she's going to have to keep dealing with me."

"Don't be surprised at all if she doesn't like it," Sylvia tells him, feeling herself start to smile at the thought of Glacia being so stubborn about everything. "I did help raise her, so I know how stubborn she can be, especially when she doesn't want something."

Darach is quiet for a second before he starts laughing loudly and compared to his earlier sadness, it's such a nice change in him. This is the Darach she's used to seeing. "Oh I know all about how stubborn she is," he chuckles a bit more and lets out a small sigh. "But…I have a feeling that she isn't going to mind having me around."

Sylvia doesn't know how to answer that for a few seconds, hearing in his voice that something happened between the two in the Capitol. Glacia did something to get through Darach's harsh outer barrier. "Good," she finally answers him and she feels a sudden burst of gratefulness for this man that he will be there, before guilt that she isn't there for Glacia instead. "She's going to need you." Sylvia takes a look around at the victors with her. Young Jory, cracking open a bottle of champagne and looking ecstatic at having another victor for District Two. Gentle and caring Bronn, who was the very first one to believe in Glacia and supported her throughout her years of training. Clemont – wait, when did Clemont get here? She raises an eyebrow at him and he gives her a grin. Well…Clemont will still support her and Glacia won't admit it to him, but she always admired him as a little girl. And then there's her own daughter. She might not be a victor, but she's so glad to have her here. "She's going to need all of us when she gets home."

"Home," Darach lets out a wistful sigh at this. "You don't know how much I'm looking forward to getting home with her alive."

"So am I," Sylvia answers him, starting to imagine seeing Glacia step off that train and being able to hug her. Before she even has time to stop it, she can feel tears starting to form in her eyes. "Thank you, Darach."

Darach doesn't answer her, and Sylvia starts to wonder if he's just not used to someone being grateful for something he did. And really, this is something that Sylvia will never be able to pay him back for. How can you ever pay someone back for bringing home a loved one alive from the games? "I have to go now, they're getting her back to the Capitol. I'll keep an eye on her and keep you updated with her surgeries."

"Please do," Sylvia responds before hearing the click of Darach hanging up, not really surprising her. She pulls the phone away from her ear with a sigh before looking around at the people gathered with her, feeling the emotional exhaustion from watching the games start to take its toll on her. "Thank you for being here. All of you…I don't know how I would have gotten through this without you."

"We might not be related by blood, but we're still your family," Bronn gives her a caring smile at this and Sylvia takes his hand, forever grateful for her longest friend. What would she have done without him all these years?

"And we all care about Glacia," Jory chimes in, trying to trade the phone for a glass of champagne that Sylvia politely refuses. Now hardly seems like the time to celebrate because now that she knows Glacia isn't in immediate danger, her thoughts turn towards the other victors and one in particular.

She suddenly stands up, making everyone give her confused looks. "I'm going to see Maylene."

"Mom," her daughter cautions her from the couch and Sylvia rolls her eyes a little, already expecting her to try and stop her. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Clemont is the next one to try and stop her. "I agree. Kat is over there."

"So?" Sylvia remarks, scoffing a little at the younger victor. "I'm not Kat, and Kat isn't me. I'm the only victor who understands what she just had to watch with her brother in the arena. Now, does anyone else want to make a poor attempt to stop me?"

Sylvia stares around at her fellow victors, Clemont shaking his head at her and Jory avoiding her gaze. When she reaches Bronn, she raises an eyebrow at the amused look on his face. He waves a hand towards the door before smiling up at her. "Come on, Sylvia, do you really think at this point that I'll try to stop you from doing something you've set your mind to? We both know that Glacia got her stubbornness from you."

Sylvia grins down at her friend, his comment amusing her, but her smile quickly fades away at the thought of Maylene. She lets out a sigh before starting towards the door, calling back to them as she goes, "If I'm not back in a half hour, send Jory to come kick Lysander's ass."

"That won't happen!" Clemont calls after her and the others laugh at his comment. Sylvia chooses not to respond, instead stepping outside and leaning against the door for a moment, trying not to think too much about how easily her and Maylene could have been reversed. What would Sylvia have done if she was the one to lose the one they love in the games?

She knows she wouldn't have been able to handle the pain and knowing Maylene, she must be feeling the same way. Sylvia starts walking quickly towards the street, steeling her face free from emotions as she hears some people at the gates to the Victors Village cheering for her and Glacia. How can they so quickly cheer for Glacia when they also just lost Lance?

Sylvia tries to ignore their cheers as she heads down towards one of the farthest houses from her own. As she gets closer, she sees Viola sitting on the steps leading up to Maylene's door, head in her hands. Once Sylvia is walking up the driveway, Viola picks up her head at her footsteps and gives Sylvia a surprised look. That's when Sylvia sees the tears on Viola's face. "Hi Sylvia. I'm happy that you'll have Glacia returning…"

"But you're also sad that Lance isn't returning," Sylvia finishes for Viola, getting a nod from the other victor. Sylvia sits down on the step next to her, letting out a loud sigh as they stare out at the street. "How bad is she taking it?"

"Terribly," Viola responds and Sylvia looks over to see Viola shaking her head. "We all know how much she loves him. _Loved,_ " she corrects herself with a grimace and wipes away at new tears. "Some of us knew him." She lets out a sigh and shakes her head again at Sylvia. "These games sucked ass. How are we supposed to celebrate one of them getting home when it means watching someone we care about be destroyed?"

"I don't know," Sylvia responds because that's all she can say. How are the victors supposed to handle this? No one ever anticipated this situation, not when there are always kids ready to volunteer. "Is she going to punch me if I go talk to her?"

Viola lets out a sad laugh at this and tries to smile at her. "Probably not, but I think she won't only out of respect for you. But, you should probably expect a lot of yelling."

"Very well," Sylvia answers as she stands up, staring at the door hesitantly. What is she even going to say to Maylene? Nothing she says can change the fact that Lance is dead and Glacia is the one who killed him. "It will only be worse if I put this off."

Sylvia starts up the steps to the porch, but pauses at the door when Viola calls out to her. "Hey Sylvia? I don't think she's mad that you have your granddaughter home. We all knew one of them wouldn't make it home. She was just hoping her brother would be the one who did."

Before Sylvia can open the door, it's opened, revealing a surprised Kat holding a phone up. "Hang on just a second, Roxanne," she takes the phone away from her ear and gives Sylvia a grin, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it briefly. "I'm happy to call Glacia a fellow victor." She holds up the phone, waving it and saying quietly, "She's very upset."

Sylvia takes a deep breath before walking through the door and making her way through the house so familiar to her own, yet so different, to where she can hear a mixture of laughter and sobs. "Thank you," Maylene says to Lysander as Sylvia stops in the doorway to the living room, watching the two sitting on the floor and hesitant to interrupt them.

"For what?" Lysander asks her.

"Just being my friend," Maylene answers and Lysander gives her a sad smile, before noticing Sylvia standing there. He raises an eyebrow, no doubt in surprise that she is standing there, which makes Maylene turn in her direction. When she sees her, she has to blink a few times before seemingly recognizing her. "Sylvia."

She gives the two younger victors a sad smile, not knowing what else to do. "Do you mind?" She asks towards Lysander, wanting to talk to Maylene without any of the other victors present.

The man gives Maylene a concerned look at this, making Sylvia feel a bit of relief to know that Maylene will have someone with her and looking after her. The younger woman nods her head at him and he turns his gaze back to Sylvia. "Of course I don't," he stands up, quickly and quietly leaving the room.

Maylene also tries to stand up quickly as Sylvia starts walking towards her. Her face is red and blotchy from tears that she tries her best to wipe away with her sleeve. Her heart just breaks for the young victor, wishing there could have been anything she could have done to prevent her from feeling this way. But the only solution would have been Lance ending up as the victor, and she would never wish for things to be reversed. She could never survive losing Glacia.

She stops in front of Maylene, staring at the younger victor's face and seeing anger laced with immense sadness in her eyes. "Let it all out," she says quietly, hoping that maybe if Maylene lets out her anger towards Sylvia, she'll at least temporarily feel better. And Maylene opens her mouth, ready to start yelling at her, but all she lets out is a sob and without thinking, Sylvia pulls the woman into a tight hug. She rubs her back as Maylene desperately clings on to her, violent sobs ripping through her. "Shh," she says, but seems to only make Maylene start crying even harder. "Let it all out."

Sylvia just lets Maylene cry on her shoulder, knowing from raising a daughter and a granddaughter that sometimes, the best thing to do is to let them cry while you hold them tight. And none of the other victors are going to be a mother right now like Sylvia.

"Why?" Maylene finally mumbles against her shoulder and it takes her a few seconds to figure out what she said.

Sylvia stays quiet for a moment as she keeps holding Maylene, the younger woman's sobs quieting just a little. But she knows her answer, even if it comes from memories that she likes to suppress. "Because I've known loss," she finally starts and lets out a sigh. Maylene picks her head up at this, staring curious and innocently at her and Sylvia realizes that she seems to have forgotten. But how could she remember something she wasn't alive for? Sylvia sighs again and leads Maylene over to the couch and once sitting, she grabs a blanket to wrap around the younger victor. Sylvia sits next to her and Maylene scoots closer so she can lean against her. Somehow, despite never being close compared to other victors, a sad understanding has built between them. "I lived through the Second Rebellion. I lost family members and friends. I feared every day for my two sisters, feared that something would happen to them. So I understand the pain you are going through."

Maylene shakes her head at this and sniffles as she wipes her face on the blanket. "It's absolutely terrible…I keep blaming myself and questioning what I could have done differently."

Sylvia contemplates this for a moment, trying to be careful with her response to keep her from becoming even more upset. "I know. But…as impossible as it seems right now, somehow you learn to live with the pain. It doesn't seem like it now, but someday you'll reach that point."

"I don't think that's possible," Maylene mutters as she picks up her head from Sylvia's shoulder, shaking it as she wipes away more tears. The younger victor looks over at her and Sylvia tries to give her a gentle smile. "Is it possible?" Sylvia nods hear head at this and reaches out, gently taking Maylene's hand, hoping the small gesture will provide a little bit of comfort to her right now. Maylene starts shaking her head at her, "Sylvia…the other victors could learn something from you about looking out for each other. I still don't know why you're doing this, but will you help me?"

Sylvia laughs a little at Maylene's comment about the other victors, knowing Maylene is right. Sure, they care, but would any of them have done what Sylvia is doing? Probably Bronn, but that's it out of the ten – no, _eleven_ – victors from District Two. She puts her hand over Maylene's hand she holds, just hoping she can somehow provide comfort to the young woman and help her get through the worst situation possible. "Absolutely."

* * *

 **I am very excited to _finally_ say that the victor of the Fifth Quarter Quell is Glacia Skylar! So fun fact, when I first started these two stories, I had planned on Lance winning. He was the first one I created and wrote. But then I started writing Glacia and just developing her, and she just became so real and I couldn't say goodbye to her. I love complex careers and that's who Glacia became. So maybe you're a little upset that Glacia won instead of Lance. Well I'm not and I'm very happy to keep writing her in my future stories.**

 **So we only have a couple chapters left of this story! Three to be exact. But of course, Glacia's story isn't ending once this story is done and I have plans for her.**

 **Well, thanks for reading and I'll see you soon for our first glimpse of Glacia as a victor!**


	19. Celebration of the Victor

**Chapter 19:**

When I first open my eyes and all I can see is blinding white light, I assume that I'm dead. I quickly shut them, not wanting to accept the fact that I lost and now my family is mourning me.

 _Beep._

I peek open one eye once more, perplexed at the sound.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

I open both eyes fully, squinting against the light for a few seconds before my eyes adjust. And when I see myself in a hospital bed and a machine beeping away next to me, displaying my heart beat, I start to cry.

"I did it," I whisper to myself, voice rough and burning at the action. But it doesn't matter as the pain is just one more sign that I'm still alive. "I really did it."

I slowly bring a hand up to my face and when I touch my cheek, my fingers are wet when I pull them away. A sob builds in my chest and soon enough, tears are pouring down my face and I can't stop sobbing as terrible memories of what I just went through – what I just did to people – won't stop passing through my mind. Oh God, I killed little kids. I killed someone I knew from days of being together in the Capitol. Someone who's sister I know have to go home and face, treat her like an equal while knowing that I'm the reason she's never going to see her brother alive again. I gasp at a sob, my side burning in pain at the stretching of my skin and I yank up the gown, revealing a large red scar. My fingers run along it, feeling the raised skin and staring in disbelief that this injury didn't kill me. I had felt more than just blood trying to pour out of that wound. _It almost killed me. I was so close to dying._

A door opens and I pick my head up to see a woman entering the room, her face turning to shock when she sees me. "Are you alright?" She asks as she races over to the bed, pressing a hand against my forehead. "Do you hurt anywhere?"

I shake my head at this, not hurting but also definitely not alright. I try to speak but all that escapes is a sob. How could I have killed people? Children. Twelve-year-olds who have barely had a chance to live. What made me better than any of them to be the lone survivor? How many families are cursing my name, wishing I was dead instead of their child? Seven. Seven people I killed in that arena. The boy from Three. Cyrus. Lorelei. Ryoko. The boy from Seven. Caitlin… _Lance._

I don't even know the names of two of the people I killed. I ruined both District One and District Seven's chances of winning. _I killed my District partner._ I'm a terrible person. "I don't deserve to be alive," I finally whisper, hating the feelings going through me.

"Don't you dare say that," the doctor scolds as she sits on the edge of the bed next to me. She takes my hand and I pull it away right away, flinching at the contact. She lets out a sigh and gives me a gentle smile. "You're alive. That's all that matters. And I'm sure if I asked the ones you care about, they would argue that you do deserve to be alive."

My sobs stop at the thought of the people who care about me. "Grandma," I whisper before a new set of sobs overtake me, this time over the thought of finally being able to see her again. How could I have made her sit through and watch that happen to me?

"Yes, your grandmother," the doctor tries once more to take my hand and this time, I don't flinch away immediately. "From what I've heard, she's been calling Darach almost non-stop ever since you won, trying to make sure that you're safe."

"Darach," I whisper, seeming to be unable to form sentences right now. "How long?"

"How long has it been?" She asks and I nod my head at this. "Over four days."

"What?"

"Four days," the doctor repeats, not seeming annoyed at all by my shock. "You had a very serious injury to your side and even with our technology that still takes a while to heal. It's still not fully healed but the Capitol is growing impatient to see the victor of the Quarter Quell."

I shake my head at this, feeling completely unready to face the crowds. "I don't want to see them."

"But what about your mentor? Would you like to see him?" The doctor asks and I almost shake my head no, assuming Darach will think I'm a monster. But I stop when I realize just how much I want to see him. Just how much I need to see him and have him tell me that I did what I had to do to win. Tell me I'm not a monster. "Well, lucky you, you get to go see him now." I freeze up in nervousness at this, afraid to go see Darach yet at the same time, wanting to hear him tell me that what I'm feeling isn't wrong. "I've brought you a set of clothes so once you're changed, you can go see him, your escort, and your stylist. They've all been very worried about you."

I nod my head at this, wondering why they would be concerned about me. The doctor takes this as a sign that I'm ready to go and passes me the clothes. I nearly drop them because my arms feel so weak from not moving for four days. I try to sit up and fall back, clutching my side in pain. The doctor gives me a sad smile at this and she pulls back my gown to take a look at the still raw and puckered scar stretching all along my side. I stare in shock at the scar, still in disbelief that I really survived being injured that badly. "How did I live?"

"Barely," the doctor responds nonchalantly as she helps me sit up. She carefully pulls the gown off and starts helping me put the clothes on as she continues. "Another minute or two and we might not have been able to save you because lost almost 40% of your blood."

She helps me stand up, my legs barely supporting me as I try to process that information. Minutes. Only a couple minutes made the difference between living and dying. "Oh God, my family had to watch that."

"Don't worry, I've provided regular updates to them," she calmly says as she helps me step into the pair of pants. "There we go. You're all set."

"I don't feel ready," I respond as she takes my arm and starts leading me towards the door, taking her time as my weak legs struggle to hold me up.

"Most victors aren't," the doctor holds open the door for me to step through but I pause, trying to wrap my head around being called a victor. For years, that's all I've wanted to hear: _'Glacia Skylar, Victor of the 125_ _th_ _Hunger Games'._ But it just…doesn't quite feel right. "Now, if you just turn left and go straight down the hallway until you can only go right, you'll make your way to you team. Do you need my help?"

"No," I answer stubbornly, not wanting to feel the pity from her despite my legs shaking with each step I take out into the hallway. "I'm going to do this on my own."

"Very well," the doctor answers and before I turn left, I glance back at her. She smiles at me, "And Glacia, congratulations on becoming victor of the Fifth Quarter Quell."

I turn before she can see my scowl at that, not wanting to disappoint her. And I'm disappointed in myself that I'm not more excited about this. Isn't it what I've worked towards for years?

I take a deep breath before starting to walk down the hallway, knowing that I somehow have to work through this. My fight for survival is not over yet. And just like in the arena, I have to focus on what were my reasons to fight. They'll now be my reason to keep living and what keeps the terrible memories away.

When I reach the corner, I pause for a minute, partially to collect my breath and use the wall as support to rest my legs. But mostly, I pause out of hesitation. Are they going to even want to see me? Or are they going to turn away in disgust from what I did? I don't think I could blame them for doing that.

And yet…something deep in my stomach – right next to that aching scar – tells me that Darach won't think that. From everything he's told me, opening up…something tells me that he went through something similar. And if not, he's going to understand why I did what I did.

I take a deep breath as I slowly turn the corner, staring at the ground and afraid to see my mentor, even if he will accept me, especially knowing how much he kept pestering the doctor about me. I can almost picture him, banging on the door and yelling for answers, and how terrifying that must have been for the doctors to have _Darach Westmann_ yelling at them. The thought makes me finally look up, finding him right away at the end of the hallway. And when I see him staring at me, proud smile on his face and his eyes glistening, I can't help the tears that start falling again as I start stumbling towards him.

Darach immediately starts running down the hallway to me and I try to run, only for my legs to scream in protest and force me to keep walking. And at the sight of his own tears falling down his cheeks, despite the smile on his face, I start smiling myself and let out a sob that turns into a laugh of just happiness to see him. As soon as he reaches me, he pulls me against him, holding me tight as he shakes with sobs. "Oh Glacia. Glacia, Glacia, Glacia," he mumbles against my head and I don't even care that his arms are so tight around me and hurt my still healing side. Because right now, I don't ever want to let go of him. I try holding him tightly, my arms feeling weak around him. "You did it. You did it." He stops as a laugh escapes and he somehow manages to pull me even closer. "My victor," he whispers and coming from him, the title doesn't sound disgusting, it sounds…right.

Darach moves back enough so that he can grab onto the side of my face, staring at me intently and seemingly trying to memorize every detail, even as tears keep streaming down his face. He finally shakes his head before hugging me once more. "I was watching you in that arena and I kept cursing myself for ever wanting to send you in as a volunteer. And during that final fight…"

Darach cuts off as a sob escapes him and I find myself also sobbing, wishing I had never went into the arena. But, a feeling of joy at seeing Darach also starts to fill me. I hold him closer, not realizing just how much I missed him. "I'm here now. I did it. Somehow, I did it. And I'm getting snot on your shirt."

Darach laughs loudly at this and I can feel his chest shaking with the laughter. "You did," Darach whispers and steps back so he can take a good look at me once again. It's such an unusual sight to see Darach of all people in tears but he slowly starts to smile at me. "You did it. You won and I am so incredibly proud of you. Now don't do anything like that ever again."

Someone clears their throat behind Darach and when I look around him, I'm surprised at how happy I am to see Flannery there. I hold my arms out and she quickly steps forward, hugging me lightly. "Oh Glacia, my beautiful victor. We're all so proud of you."

"I don't really feel proud," I respond quietly to them as Flannery lets me go.

Darach immediately starts frowning at this and reaches out to take my hand, holding on to it tightly. "We'll work through it. Both of us need to learn to deal with their feelings surrounding the games."

"Together?" I ask him, not knowing how I can keep getting through this without him. Just the thought of going through that alone is enough to make my throat feel tight as more tears threaten to fall.

Darach puts an arm around my shoulders and I rest my head against his shoulder, wiping away some more tears as he answers, "Together."

* * *

"I don't feel ready for this," I whisper as the muffled sound of the crowd waiting for me makes my stomach twist even more. I shake my head at Darach standing in front of me before Serena nudges him out of the way so she can adjust my hair, bringing it forward so it doesn't get in the way of the large feathered collar. "Why the black dress?"

Serena steps forward so she can look at me, taking a few seconds to stare at my dress before finally meeting my gaze and giving me a smile that does a little help to calm the twisting nerves in me. "Because I don't think it would be tasteful to put you in something bright and colorful after the loss of so many lives." She gives a small shrug at me as she takes a few steps back to get a better look. "And people are expecting some sort of reaction from you to Lance's death. He was the brother of a victor and I think he deserves the respect of you wearing black tonight."

At the mention of Lance, my eyes start to sting with tears that I quickly blink back. This is stupid, why am I so upset at the fact that I killed him? I knew from the start that he had to die for me to make it out alive. There was never any question that I had to become victor.

"Are you alright?" Darach asks quietly as he steps closer, dropping his voice so Serena can't hear him.

"No?" I respond, staring up at him and just having no idea what is happening to me. "Why am I not excited about becoming the victor? This is what I wanted for years!"

Darach just sighs at this and pulls me in to a gentle hug, only making me have to fight harder not to cry right now. "Glacia, I'm gonna let you in on a secret. None of us are ever quite alright after winning. Some are just better at pretending than others." He steps back, keeping his hands on my shoulders and waiting until I meet his strong gaze before continuing. "But you have earned this. You worked so hard for years. Everyone out there is cheering for you. As hard as it sounds, try to enjoy this moment. It's the outcome of years of training. And if that seems impossible, at least pretend and you might find yourself no longer needing to pretend."

I nod my head at this as someone shouts over for us to get into places. Darach tries to walk away and I grab on to his hand, feeling renewed panic in me as I hear Claudia talking to the crowd on the stage above our heads. "I don't know if I can do this without breaking down."

"Then break down," Darach casually responds, the opposite response of what I expect. "Who cares what they think? You're the victor now. You've proven to everyone that you're capable of winning."

As Darach walks away, leaving me alone to wait for the platform to push me up on to the stage, I can't help but feel a little bit calmer at his words. He's right. I've proven myself. So who cares if I cry? I suffered enough for them.

But that thought still doesn't stop myself from breathing faster when Claudia keeps talking. "Alright, the moment is finally here! Let's welcome to the stage our victor of the 125th Hunger Games and Fifth Quarter Quell, Glacia Skylar of District Two!"

The platform starts pushing me up and I press my sweaty hands against my dress, trying to remove the moisture. It's pushing me up too quickly and I don't feel ready to face the crowd. When I get pushed onto the stage, the lights momentarily blind me and the crowd's loud cheering overwhelms me and all I can do is stare out, no clue how I should be reacting.

Eventually, the crowd's cheers form into a word, and when I realize they're chanting my name, it's almost an intoxicating feeling. Finally, a smile starts to form on my face, only making them cheer even louder.

I catch sight of Claudia approaching me, almost glowing in her gold pantsuit, grinning at me before giving me a light hug. "Glacia, welcome!" She says over the cheers of the crowd, waiting until their cheers start to quiet down before speaking once more. "How are you feeling? We were all quite worried for you there at the end."

I unconsciously place my hand over the tender scar on my side, hidden away under the fabric of my dress. _Just how close did I come to dying?_ "I'm still healing. But I'll take a painful scar right now if it means that I'm alive and standing here."

The crowd laughs at what I said, even though I hadn't meant it at a joke. Claudia nods her head at this before grinning out at the crowd. "Yes, our doctors did quite an amazing job. They were working around the clock to get you healthy so you could be here to celebrate with us tonight. How about we give the Capitol doctors a well-earned round of applause?"

I join in with clapping, knowing I want to find some way to thank them personally. Because even if it was their job…they still saved my life. "Thank you," I say, hoping that they'll know I'm addressing them.

Claudia turns back to me as the crowd stops their applause, motioning for us to take seats on the side of the stage. "Now, it is time for our lovely recap of this year's Quarter Quell!"

The lights start to dim as the crowd cheers while Claudia and I take our seats. I take a deep breath, trying to steady the nerves that have returned at the thought of having to witness all over again the horrors I faced in the games.

The video starts with President Xavier reading the Quarter Quell card and I'm brought back to that night. I had been absolutely devastated by the Quell twist, having already been selected to volunteer and in less than a minute, my years of hard work came crashing down. I shake my head at this, wishing I could go back and tell my past self that she should never have wanted to go into the games.

And then the Reaping recap starts. They show the District Two Reaping in its entirety, me cheering at my name being called – _I was so stupid –_ Lance hesitating as he steps forward, and the reaction at home to the relatives of two victors being chosen. They briefly show my allies being called and stepping forward and I'm ready for the chariot rides, but take in a sharp breath when they show Caitlin's Reaping.

 _No…please don't focus on Lance and Caitlin too._

My stomach is a twisting knot of anxiety as the video moves on to the chariot rides and I just know they're going to spend a lot of time on Lance. And it's only going to make me keep wishing I was anywhere but here. But at least for the chariot rides, they show everyone – with of course, a focus on the District Two chariot. Seeing the outfits again, I'm filled with a sense of awe at how amazing everyone looked. And I looked so excited and happy to be there, holding my spear up and ready to fight everyone.

And then the screen shifts to the training scores. At the sight of the nine I didn't deserve, I find myself looking around the buildings and my gaze landing on Lisia Arune. Unlike the other Gamemakers, she's not watching the video. Instead, she stares down at me and when she notices my gaze, she gives a quick wink and mouths, _'We'll talk.'_

I fight to shake my head at this as I turn back to the video, starting to feel a pit of anger mixing in my stomach with the nerves. I knew I didn't deserve that nine. I was the best damn tribute. Whatever, I've proven to them that I was better than that score.

The interviews have started, showing highlights of my allies: Lorelei looking stunning and all smug about getting the highest score. Ryoko being excited to be there and it's shocking to see him like that after he turned on me in the arena. What happened in him to make that change? Then there's Anabel and Ardos talking about how they knew each other before the Reaping, only making me feel guilty; how is Anabel's brother reacting to the loss of his sister and best friend? They briefly show Caitlin talking about her allies. Then there is Cyrus telling how we wouldn't let him join and me calling out to him, ready for the fight. The last one shown is Lance and they show his entire interview with him being surprisingly cocky, almost as if he was a volunteer. When he brings up Maylene, I wish they would have just skipped this part. How am I supposed to face her back in Two, knowing I killed her brother? She probably hates me and I don't blame her at all. It's almost a relief when the screen shifts to me. They show all of my interview, me looking stunning in that dress and so cocky and sure of my victory. When did that change? The crowd watching cheers loudly when I proclaim that I would become victor for my grandmother and I find myself smiling at that. I did win for her. But the smile quickly disappears as my heart aches to see her again and to hug her and never let go.

And then the games start, giving us a view of the entire arena as the clock ticks down. They focus in on my face, determined as I brace to run towards the supplies. But when the crowd starts chanting down with the countdown, I crouch down in my chair as panic fills me. Panic and fear over relieving what happened in that arena. They cheer loudly when the countdown hits zero and I hold my breath as they show us starting to run towards the cornucopia. The boy from Three – the name Wattson pops up on the screen – runs out in front of me and I watch myself shove him aside and his neck snapping on a large piece of rubble. I worry that the little food in my stomach is about to rise up as the face of Wattson plays over and over in my head. He was only thirteen and the first person I killed. "I'm sorry," I whisper to him, even though he will never hear it. All because of me.

But the action keeps moving, with the first tribute reaching the Cornucopia, quickly being killed by Lorelei. Some tributes quickly leave with supplies as I enter, searching for the blunt spear they provided. Aislinn slips away down the back of the cliff, avoiding all of the conflict. Ardos chases after the boy from Five as he tries to leave the bloodbath, getting into a fight before killing him easily.

I'm shocked by what happens next and all I can do is stare at the screen as Anabel tackles Caitlin. They struggle for a few seconds before they both stop moving, Anabel on top before she is shoved over, knife in her stomach. My own stomach unexpectedly twists at the sight of Anabel being injured. Guilt makes tears rise in my eyes that I quickly push back. It's clear she was trying to prove herself to us and that she deserved to be in that alliance. She never should have been in these games. There would have been a volunteer for her in Four.

But would I have won if I was with five other fully trained volunteers?

I push the thought away, hating the fact that I don't know the answer to it and it's terrifying. But that didn't happen. I'm here now and alive.

I take a deep breath to calm myself, trying to keep my face clear as I focus back on what is happening. They show Lance throwing a knife into the back of the girl from Eight as she chased after Caitlin, followed by the brief flash of guilt on his face as he realizes just what he did.

And then there's my fight against Cyrus, after he's killed the girl from Six. They show the fight in its entirety, starting with Cyrus proclaiming that I'm about to be dead. I shake my head at both him and the way I was smirking, so confident that I would win and throwing aside a weapon to fight with my bare hands. I was so stupid; even if I was trained, I should have been more cautious against someone larger like him. The crowd cheers out as I avoid his knife, especially when I reach out and dislocate his shoulder. And then I when they play the loud snap of me breaking his neck and the sound rings around the buildings, I feel bile rising up. How could I have done that to someone?

I shake my head at having killed without giving it a second thought, hating that I feel guilty for this even though I had to do it to win. But when they turn the cameras towards Ardos watching Anabel die, my stomach twists in a different way. Watching it happen again…brings so much guilt to me and without even realizing it, tears start falling down my face. I scoff at myself as I try to discretely wipe them away, hating that watching myself kill two people didn't make me cry but watching Anabel die is.

 _But I knew her._ As much as I tried to avoid it, I had gotten to know her a bit during training. And that makes it so much worse.

They then show the faces of each tribute that died in the bloodbath and that's when I feel the tears of guilt wanting to fall. Suddenly, I understand why Grandma is the way she is. Why she is constantly haunted by the memories of her games.

I wrap my arms around myself, wishing I could curl up and be anywhere but here. But no matter how guilty I feel, I can't bring my gaze away from the screen as the next few days of the games flash by in a blur. Receiving my spear. Lorelei mercy killing Aislinn. Searching for tributes the next day and finding the pair from Eleven. Me forcing Lance to kill the girl to prove he was really in this alliance. Finding that terrible mutt that turned the boy from Six into stone and us killing it. I shudder at the sight of that mutt, wishing I could forget about it but doubting that will ever happen.

And then the video goes back to our camp and I find myself leaning forward, curious to see just how Lance got away. Sure enough, Lorelei helped him leave, even giving herself a fake injury, all out of spite for me. I find myself scowling at this as Lance climbs down the cliff and encounters a mutt, while Lorelei is given a sponsor gift for helping him escape.

I knew then that she helped him and seeing it now…it gives me a little sense of satisfaction. And when they show me killing her, the crowd cheers and I find a bit of a smirk forming on my face as I tell my allies what will happen if they betray me.

And then they show the next day. How the Gamemakers gave us a path that would take us near Lance. Him following us. Ardos killing Caitlin's ally and Caitlin trying so hard to make a stand against us. Lance appearing to fight with her. And then the Gamemakers letting them escape. As they show Lance and Caitlin escaping, holding on to each other, the guilt returns to me. How could they have formed such a bond in so few days in the Capitol? I'll never know that answer.

I get ready to see Ryoko betraying me, but I'm surprised when the video cuts away from the arena. When I recognize Claudia walking into the Victor's Village of Two, my heart aches to be back home and I find myself smiling at the sight of home. When Grandma appears, it hits me just how much I missed her. New tears start falling, this time because I'm just so homesick and ready to be back with my family and to tell Grandma that I was stupid for ever wanting to volunteer.

" _Sylvia, always a treat to see you," Claudia starts as she sits in our home next to Grandma and my mother. "Although I never anticipated interviewing you for the Final Eight."_

" _Well I hadn't ever wanted to be interviewed for this," Sylvia responds._ I let out a laugh through my tears at her not toning down her sass for Claudia. _"But Glacia is stubborn and even when the Capitol forbad volunteers, she still managed to be in these games. And nothing is going to stop her from winning."_

" _What do you think about her actions up to this point?"_

 _Sylvia scoffs at this, crossing her arms as she gets comfortable. "She's doing exactly what I expected from her. Staying on guard and making the necessary kills."_

 _Claudia smiles at her, seemingly unbothered by her attitude. "So you think she'll become the victor? There's still quite the competition left."_

 _Sylvia just stares at Claudia with the look of a parent being unhappy at something a child said. "Claudia, she's as likely to win as it's likely that Elliot is going to flirt with you."_

The whole crowd roars in laughter at this and I find myself starting to chuckle before having to stop as my scar tightens and sends stabs of pain through my side. I spare a quick glance over at Claudia next to me, barely able to notice her cheeks flushing in the dimmed lights.

 _Claudia purses her lips at this before continuing, "Is there any advice you would give to Glacia?"_

 _Sylvia looks directly into the camera, mischievous look in her eyes for what she's about to say. "Honey, you know what you're doing so keep doing that. And you better win or I'm going to kick Darach's ass when he gets home."_

The crowd is laughing once more and I start smiling at that mental image of Grandma trying to kick Darach's ass. I'm glad that scenario didn't happen as it would have meant my loss, but still, it's a funny picture.

But my smile quickly fades when they go back to the arena and show Ryoko trying to kill me. Even now, it still makes my heart race in fear at how close I came to death. After showing Ardos accepting that I'm telling the truth, they show the remaining tributes reacting to the feast and what they ask for, starting with me asking for Darach's letter. Ardos asks for a picture of himself, Anabel, and her brother, only making my earlier guilt return for them. Caitlin jokingly asks for a Capitol feast before seriously asking for it while Lance asks for armor specifically against spears.

Then there's the actual feast. The mutts are just as beautiful and terrifying on screen as they were in person. They show the entire feast, letting me see Lance and Caitlin killing their mutts on the opposite side of the Cornucopia and running away while I was distracted by the tributes and mutts. I shake my head at this, knowing it was Lisia's way of pushing off that fight. And why wouldn't she? It was surely a great finale.

Later that night, Ardos gets attacked by the wolf mutt and I close my eyes, trying to block out the sounds of ripping flesh. But even with my eyes tightly shut, I can still see the look on his face as he didn't cry out, ready to accept his death. And why wouldn't he? He lost his best friend's younger sibling that he swore to protect. I try to imagine being him and quickly stop, hating the intense guilt.

I open my eyes to see me killing the mutt in the city before approaching Caitlin's District partner. The person I am here is already so different from the one at the start of the games, almost on the verge of breaking but desperately holding it together because she's so close to victory. But as I watch me kill the boy, I whisper once more, hating this guilt inside. "I'm sorry."

Finally, we reach the end of the games and the crowd cheers in excitement as the mutt appears to force Caitlin and Lance to where I wait for them. I can't take my eyes away from the screen, even though I so badly want to look away, as they desperately hold on to each other and Lance doesn't abandon her when she gets injured by the mutt. They cross the bridge and the video switches so that there's now a side-by-side of me and Lance. I throw my knife, injuring Caitlin and for some unknown reason, I start feeling guilt at killing her, even after she was the cause of so much trouble in my alliance. She was the reason I struggled to keep everything under control.

They switch back to one aerial view as the fight between Lance and myself starts. The crowd cheers when I make strikes out with my spear and cries when Lance cuts my arm. But all of them are rooting for me. _How many of them were cheering for Lance to win just a few days ago?_

Then I make my final move and stare wide eyed as we both injure each other, falling to the ground. I reach out and hold on to my scar, feeling the burning pain of the injury almost as if it just happened. I'm amazed at how much blood we both are losing. Fear starts trickling through me as I finally see just how close I came to dying. Everyone has told me today that it was close, but to see the blood loss is another thing.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, your victor of the 125_ _th_ _Hunger Games, Glacia Skylar!"_

The crowd cheers at that as the doctors quickly arrive on the ground to save me. I always imagined hearing that phrase after a battle and I would stand there, triumphant and hands raised as I cheered with the crowd. But all I feel now is fear at how I nearly died and guilt as I stare at Lance's dead body, staring up at the sky and never moving again. Never getting home to his sister. All because of me.

The video doesn't end with me getting on the hovercraft, even though I wish it would already so I can get off this stage. But instead, it shifts to just earlier today, showing me sleeping in the hospital and slowly opening my eyes for the first time as a victor.

And that's when the tears that have been threatening to fall again start streaming down my cheeks. The crowd is cheering for me as the lights come up, yet I can't bring myself to smile at the victory I always wanted. All I can focus on is the sight of me bleeding out on the ground, so close to death. _Why do I deserve to be standing here instead of Lance?_

Motion on the stage to my side catches my gaze and when I see the person approaching, I quickly try to wipe away my tears as I stand up. President Xavier approaches me, along with a child carrying a crown on a pillow. I almost shake my head at that, but stop myself, although I can't help but question what is wrong with me. Why can't I enjoy this moment?

President Xavier stops in front of me, giving me a gentle smile that just reminds me of Bronn, only making my homesickness even worse. "My dear," he quietly starts as he reaches out and takes my hand, giving it a small squeeze. "Don't cry. You have earned your right to stand on this stage and that is something to be proud of. In fact, _I'm_ proud of the way you fought and represented your District." I sniffle and form the smallest smile at this. The President is proud of me? He laughs lightly at this and lets go of my hand to take the crown. "Much better."

The President gently sets the crown on my head and that's when it really starts to set in that I'm now a victor. It wasn't the many people congratulating me today or the video _showing_ me becoming the victor. It was the President of Panem crowning me as the victor that finally made it real. Except it's still not what I ever expected. None of this has been what I anticipated. "Congratulations, Glacia, on becoming the victor of the Fifth Quarter Quell."

* * *

I let out a sigh as I finally get the chance to sit down, contemplating for a moment how much trouble I would get in if I threw my shoes in the garbage. But then again, who is going to tell the newest victor that they can't take off their heels? "I swear, if I have to dance with one more person, I'm going to have to cut my feet off from all these blisters."

I get one shoe yanked off and toss it over to my side when I hear someone laughing. I quickly look up, expecting someone to tell me to stop that. Yet I'm completely surprised by the person standing in front of me. "I would say you get used to the heels, but you really don't."

"Lisia Arune," I say quietly as the Head Gamemaker moves to sit on the bench next to me. I stare at her, a little in awe to be next to the Head Gamemaker, but also feeling some deep anger for what she did in the arena.

She motions towards my other shoe, giving me a wink. "Go ahead. I won't tell anyone what I saw." I hesitate for a moment before yanking the shoe off and giving it a good toss, watching it splash into one of the fountains. Lisia laughs at this and I turn my gaze back to her. "You know, I've been waiting to talk to you all night."

"Why?"

Lisia scoffs at this and shakes her head at me, making me feel like a little kid getting scolded. "Why wouldn't I want to talk to my newest victor?"

The way she claimed me as her victor makes my stomach uneasy, but I stay quiet, not knowing what to say to her. "So…what did you want to talk about?"

"How about the fact that you were always secretly the person I thought would win?" Lisia starts, turning to stare out at the garden surrounding us. She's silent for a moment as her words sink in. If she thought I would win, was there every any chance she wouldn't let me become victor? "No, I wasn't going to intervene to guarantee your victory. I don't intervene with that part."

"What do you mean?" I ask curiously but not really expecting her to answer me. Everyone knows the Gamemakers intervene where they want, but will Lisia actually openly tell me?

Lisia gives a shrug as I stare at her, feeling my anger towards her growing. "Let's just say that my job is to provide a good show. And I certainly achieved that with having two relatives of victors in the finale."

Her words sink in, leaving a terrible pit in my stomach. She…rigged the Reaping to be me and Lance? Guilt at killing Lance quickly turns to anger that the woman sitting next to me is the why he was there in the first place. I should have known it was weird that I was selected after the victors had already picked me to volunteer. _It could have been any other guy from Two and wouldn't be feeling this guilt._

Lisia turns her gaze back to me and raises an eyebrow. "Are you mad? Mad that I gave you the chance to become victor that was taken away from you when the Quell twist was announced? Mad that you were part of a Quarter Quell that everyone will be talking about for years?"

"I…don't know what I'm feeling," I let out a sigh. It's an honest answer. There's no way for me to pinpoint the exact emotions coursing through me right now.

"Well I can probably make you mad," Lisia continues, her tone lighthearted and her eyes twinkling in amusement. "I know how mad you were about your score. Flannery wouldn't stop apologizing to Gamemakers about the broken mess in your room."

"I'm not sorry about that," I answer, feeling anger clearly now. "Everyone knows I deserved the highest score."

"You certainly did," Lisia says and it's so satisfying to hear her say that. "But I knew giving you a lower score, especially the same as Lance's, would cause drama. And it would get you to fight harder."

I scowl a little at this, hating to know that she did this to me. But…does it really matter now? "I deserved better."

"Yes, yes," Lisia gives a wave of her hand, acting like this is irrelevant. "But is anyone talking about your score tonight? No. They're talking about you being the victor." Lisia looks around and lets out a sigh before quickly standing up. "I have to go, I see Ventura searching for me so she can introduce me to her son that she wants to become a Gamemaker." She rolls her eyes at this, almost making me smile. But she quickly smiles proudly at me, "You did well, Glacia. I know you've heard this all night, but congratulations. Now, we'll talk again on your victory tour."

Before I have the chance to respond, she runs off, disappearing behind a trellis of flowers. I shake my head at her reaction, starting to feel some anger boiling up again at what she told me. And yet…it's not really surprising.

"Glacia?" A voice calls out and I almost start scowling at someone finding me, but then I recognize the voice. Darach steps closer and I smile a little when I see him. "I've been looking for you. It's finally an acceptable time to excuse you from the party."

"Finally," I say and quickly stand up, pulling up the skirt of my dress so I don't trip over it. Darach raises an eyebrow at my bare feet and I shake my head at him. "Don't ask. Oh and don't tell Flannery either. Now, just get me out of here."

* * *

 **Here we are, our first look at Glacia as the newest victor! I've thoroughly enjoyed the arc I've written for her of discovering just how terrible the games are and regretting ever wanting to volunteer. What have you thought about it?**

 **We still have some more to see of Glacia, but this story is definitely wrapping up quickly. After this, there is one more chapter and a final epilogue!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you soon with the last chapter!**


	20. Home

**Chapter 20:**

"Glacia! Come on, you can't stay cooped up all day!"

"I don't want to come out," I yell back at Flannery, not taking my eyes off of the scenery as we pass through the mountains. Home. Hard to believe that finally we're going home. How will the District react to my victory? Will they be happy at me winning? Will they be mad at me for killing Lance? What will my family think of me now that I'm a killer?

I let out a sigh at that last thought, knowing they're still going to love me. If we can all live with the knowledge of what Grandma did, surely they won't judge me for what I did to make it home alive. Yet I'm still anxious about how they'll react.

Flannery gives another knock on my door before letting out a loud sigh. "I give up. Darach, you try!"

I can hear her heels clicking away from the door before heavier footsteps approach. I wrap my arms around myself, wishing I could get this black jumpsuit off already and just put on comfy clothes and stay in bed all day. There's another knock on the door and Darach hesitates before speaking to me. "Glacia…do you want to talk about whatever you're feeling?"

I let out a sigh and stand at the window for a few seconds, not really wanting to talk about what's going on in me, but also wanting to see Darach. Finally, I make up my mind and let him into my room. His face shows a little surprise that I opened the door and he leans against the doorframe. "I know you're not taking things well, but why don't you want to at least each lunch with us?"

I shake my head at him, feeling my eyes prickling with tears. "I don't want to see Roxanne," I whisper to him. I've managed to avoid her up until now and want to keep doing that. "I don't want to see her after killing Lance."

Darach sighs at this and just stares at me for a minute. "Glacia, you need to just talk to her. I promise it won't be as bad as you're imagining."

"And if it is?"

Darach lets out a little chuckle at this and steps out of the doorway, giving enough space for me to pass through but I stay put. "Then I'll let you come back here and be alone."

I know I need to do this eventually but I still start thinking of reasons to avoid it. But finally, I let out a sigh of defeat and step out into the hallway. "This is going to be terrible," I mutter and shake my head as I start walking towards the dining hall. The nerves in my stomach make it so I don't even want to eat.

Darach opens the door ahead of me and I hesitate in the doorway, staring over at the table. Roxanne just sits there, resting her head on her hand propped up on the table, pushing food around but not actually eating anything, and occasionally sighing. Flannery is the first one to look up and she lights up in happiness when she sees me there and jumps up from the table. "Glacia! I'm so happy you came out."

Flannery takes my arm, starting to drag me into the room as Roxanne stares up at me, revealing sad eyes. The victor tries to smile at me as Flannery pushes me into the seat across from Roxanne. "Hello…and congratulations on becoming victor."

I stare at her, confused by the way she's treating me. Why isn't she yelling at me, telling me it's all my fault that Lance didn't come home? "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She asks and as she stares at my face, she sets down her fork and sits up, letting out another sigh. "Glacia…we knew only one of you was going to make it out. And we also knew it was inevitable that you two would have to fight each other."

I stare down at my empty plate, fidgeting my hands in my lap as I still feel an immense amount of guilt. "But I killed your tribute. Why are you congratulating me?"

I keep staring down, my eyes getting blurry as I wait for her response. Eventually I look up, seeing a surprisingly kind look on her face. "Because I'm at least happy that one of you made it out alive. Having one tribute returning home is always something to be happy about. It doesn't make it any easier to lose Lance, but…we could have lost you too. So that's why I'm congratulating you on becoming victor."

"I don't feel happy about being a victor," I say as the first tear slips out and I shake my head at them. "This is what I've wanted for years yet I don't even get a little happy when someone calls me a victor. What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing is wrong with you," Darach responds instantly to me as Flannery puts a hand on my shoulder and passes over a napkin to wipe my tears with.

"Glacia," Roxanne speaks up and I hesitantly look over at her, still worried that she's going to hate me and start yelling at me for what I did. "Do you honestly think that any victor is the same person as they were before they went into the arena?"

I sniffle, using the napkin from Flannery to wipe at tears. I give a tiny shrug at Roxanne. "I don't know. You guys all seem normal."

"Here's a secret," Darach speaks up and I look over to see him with his arms crossed, staring at me with concern in his eyes. "None of us are completely okay with what we did in the games."

"Every victor just has their way of coping," Roxanne continues for him and Darach nods his head in agreement. "In other Districts, sadly, that might be alcohol or drugs. Some have opened shops. Some try to work still in their District to stay busy. And then there's us, who focus on training the next volunteers."

I shake my head at this, terrified at even the thought of getting back in the training center and getting questioned by everyone there about what the games were like. Constantly being reminded of what happened in the arena. "I don't think I want to start training."

"And if anyone tries to force you when you don't want to, they'll have to deal with me," Darach says defensively, bringing out a small hint of a smile on my face.

Roxanne scoffs and shakes her head at him, only making him chuckle a little. But when she looks back at me, her face softens. "No one will force you. And if you don't want to train, so be it. I don't really train too often."

"Except…" I hesitate, not really sure how to explain what I've been feeling and thinking all morning, or if I really want to. But the two look so supportive, so I take a deep breath to steady myself before continuing, "The games really messed with my head, during and now after. I never even thought about that, yet I wish someone would have told me that I would close my eyes and see the blood on my hands, or the dead body of the boy I killed in front of me, or the mutts roaming the arena and trying to kill us…Why don't we ever talk about this to the trainees? They deserve to know this and to be prepared for it. We prepare them for everything else."

The two are quiet for a few seconds before sharing a look between each other. I watch them, waiting for one of them to tell me why we don't warn the people training to volunteer about this. Darach is finally the one to answer. "I guess no one has ever brought it up before. Everyone just kept pretending like everything was okay so no one questioned why we didn't do anything more."

I purse my lips at this as the train starts to slow, causing us all to look around. Flannery claps her hands excitedly, "Oh how wonderful, we must be arriving back in Two! I can't wait to see how the District is going to react to you!"

My thoughts on training people to handle the mental toll of the games are pushed back – but definitely not something I'm ready to stop thinking about yet – and replaced by my earlier fears and nerves about how people will react. Flannery takes the napkin out of my hands and starts wiping at my cheeks. "Can't have any tears on you! Oh and don't start giving me that look." Flannery grabs on to my cheeks with one hand and I stare up at her with wide eyes. "Just think, in a few minutes, you're going to see your family again!"

The thought is a comforting one and when Flannery lets go of my face, a bit of a smile forms as I rub on to my chin where her nails dug in. Only a few minutes until I can hug them again?

"Are you ready?" Darach asks and I realize everyone else is standing up and staring at me expectantly. I stand up as the train lurches to a stop and reach out and grab on to his arm to steady myself. Once the train is fully stopped, I let go and look around towards the windows. Already I can see the crowd gathered, people straining to get a look at the entrance for me.

"I don't think I'll ever be ready," I respond as I keep staring at the crowd waiting. Even as my anxiousness continues to grow, there's a bit of happiness getting mixed in as I realize the people waiting are excited. They want to see me, regardless of what I did in the arena. To them…I'm another person they can proudly call a victor for their home. And I don't want to let them down. So maybe for just a bit I can pretend to the crowd that I'm alright. But I refuse to keep pretending for the rest of my life. "But I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Flannery motions us towards the door and when everyone waits to start walking, I realize they're waiting for me. I hesitantly start walking, feeling Roxanne and Darach both put a hand on my shoulders, giving me a much needed burst of confidence. "And just remember," Roxanne starts as we move into the next car over and approach the door. "We're going to be right by your side. All of us victors."

"Yeah, you're part of our messed up family now," Darach adds with a chuckle as we stop in front of the door.

Flannery waits by the side of the door, staring at me expectantly. "Well? Ready to see your family?"

I take a deep breath, reminding myself that this will only be a few minutes of being outside with the crowd, at least before the party starts tonight. I give Flannery a nod and she opens the door, momentarily blinding us with the bright afternoon sun. As I take a step outside, I'm enveloped by screams and cheers – nothing quite like the Capitol crowd last night, but still comparable – that make me want to run back inside and hide away from everyone.

But as I look around the platform, at the far end stand two important people, smiling proudly at me, I forget about the crowd watching me. I start running over, despite the doctors telling me not to strain myself, and my grandmother and mother do the same, meeting me halfway. We collide into hugs and I start laughing and crying as I hold on to both of them as tightly as I can, so overwhelmed by how much I missed them.

I feel them shaking against me and my mother starts sobbing as she leans back enough to stare at my face. She pushes back my hair as she smiles at me, trying to wipe away my tears even as her own start falling. "Glacia, my little girl, you did it."

"I did," I answer her as they both step back, but keep holding on to one of my hands. I take a good look at Grandma, tears in her eyes, and have to pull her back for another hug. "You don't know how much I missed you."

She starts rubbing my back, "Shh, I know. I know how you're hurting. And I'm here for you. We're both here. But right now, you need to be strong for the District. Show them the fierce girl who was going to be their volunteer."

I nod my head and sniffle a little at this before letting her go, becoming aware once more that there is a crowd watching and waiting for me. When I turn towards them, all staring up at me and looking so proud, I smile out at them, even as I feel like crying. I hesitantly bring up a hand to wave at them and they respond with cheers, cheers that I don't really deserve.

From the front of the crowd steps out a tall woman, face set in stone and terrifying, but still, the sight of Kat for a moment makes me feel like everything is normal. "Welcome home, Glacia."

Kat offers out her hand to me, the closest she'll ever give to human comfort, and I take it, much to the excitement of the District. But I don't let go yet, as the sight of the woman who runs the training center has reminded me of the conversation on the train. I glance over at Grandma, reminded that she is another victor who suffered from the mental stress of the games, and make up my mind. "Kat, I know how I want to train the kids at the center, but it's not the usual. In fact, it's quite different."

Kat raises an eyebrow at this as she drops my hand. She puts her hands behind her back, studying my face. "I'm open to suggestions. We can discuss this later today before the District party."

"I'm not suggesting it," I answer her, surprising myself a little with how bold I am to Kat. And her normal stoic face betrays her surprise as well. "I'm demanding it."

* * *

 _Two weeks later_

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Darach asks for probably the tenth time today as we approach the training center. We've been stopped – or rather, I've been stopped – multiple times along the way with people saying how excited they are that I'm the newest victor for District Two. It's still a bizarre occurrence and I don't know how to react to them. Say 'Thanks for congratulating me for killing seven kids, including my own District partner'? No, instead I just always smile and thank them for being supportive.

But I scoff at Darach and come to a stop, staring up at the entrance to the training center. How many times did I stare at this same sight in hope and awe as a little girl? "Do you remember when I first started?"

"Of course," Darach answers right away as he stares up at the building with me before starting to laugh. "You had spent a month doing laps around the building and then trying to wrestle anyone who would give you a shot when they left."

I grin a bit at that, knowing I was stubborn then and probably always will be. "And here we are, six years later and I'm now a victor."

Darach lets out a sigh at me and I turn to look up at him, my smile slowly disappearing as I see the worry on his face. "You didn't answer my question."

"I don't care that the doctors said to wait a month before any extraneous activity," I say, getting a shake of his head in return. "I'm not going to be fighting anyone."

"Glacia…" He starts and I almost roll my eyes at his tone. "That's not what I meant."

"I know," I answer with a sigh before contemplating if I really want to do this. If I really want to open up to the people I trained alongside for years and always put up a front to, pretending I wasn't bothered by the rumors around Grandma or even that I would follow in her footsteps if I ever volunteered. I guess they were right, but who cares now? "I have to make sure they're better prepared. I don't want them to be like me. Or at least make them aware that they could end up like me."

Darach shakes his head again, but a hint of a smile starts to form as he stares down at me. "Nothing I say is going to stop you from doing this now, right?"

"Absolutely not."

"Not even if I ask you to wait a couple more weeks, give yourself some time to heal?" His tone makes me hesitate for a moment, that and the weird look he's giving me.

I turn to face him, ignoring the few straggling students running in to avoid being late. "You and Roxanne told me that I need to find some way to cope. Sitting around at home all day isn't doing that, even though I love being with my family." I let out a sigh and tug on my ponytail anxiously before shifting around in my workout clothes. They still don't fit quite right after the days of not eating right in the arena and the stress and anxiety of returning home. "I don't know how to handle not training all day and always having something to do. And…I just need to start doing this now."

Darach nods his head in understanding at this, even though his face shows he wants to start protesting it. "I know. Doesn't mean I like it."

"Trust me, I'm terrified to do this," I respond before turning back towards the door. Just have to start walking. I take a few deep breaths, trying to steady my racing heart. "I can do this," I whisper to myself, yet I stay firmly planted.

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

"What?" I ask, having been distracted by giving myself a pep talk. I look up at Darach and see a comforting smile on his face. "Oh…yeah, that would be nice."

"Then let's go," Darach says and starts walking forward, stopping after a few seconds to stare back at me expectantly.

I let out a sigh, knowing I can't put this off forever, and start following him into the building. Darach leads the way to one of the larger meeting rooms, typically only used to make announcements to select groups. At the door, I hesitate when I hear the voices and see just how many kids are in there. I told Kat I wanted to do this for the top five in each year, but now I'm starting to regret doing it all at once.

Kat is standing near the door and when she spots us, she excuses herself and joins us. "Well?" She asks me expectantly. "I gathered the students you asked for. Top five of each gender for every year. Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure that we need it," I answer her, trying to bring back some of that confidence I had when I demanded we start this. "But do I feel ready? Not really."

Kat puts a hand on my shoulder, still not showing any emotions as she leans forward to whisper. "These kids have not stopped talking about how excited they are to hear from you, even if it's just talking about your experience in the arena or even just how to handle the prep teams. My point is," she pauses to make sure I'm fully listening to her, not that I ever stopped, "You have provided them with new hope. A lot of these students have trained alongside you or seen you at least in the training center. The younger ones even admire you."

"I don't deserve that," I responds immediately, hating the feeling brought with it. "I killed children their ages. That doesn't deserve admiration."

"Then tell them that," Kat says sternly. "Tell them what it's really like to be in the arena."

Kat's right, like seemingly always, and I nod my head at her before taking a deep breath. "Okay," I tell her before getting enough courage to enter the room. Immediately the chatter stops as they all stare at me, most with awed expressions on their face. In the front, a lone stool waits for me and I take my place, staring down at my hands and hesitating for a minute before finally looking up at them. Just like he said, Darach stands at the back of the room, along with Kat and Bronn, all being supportive and waiting to see what I will say. "You all know who I am. And I know some of you. I trained with some of you. The reason you're here is because you're all in the top five for your year and have a chance of being selected as the volunteer."

"I don't know how much Kat has told you about this new required course I want for your training," I pause as I stare out of them, getting curious expressions that reveal that she hasn't said anything. "Well I'm here to tell you the reality of the games."

I fall silent, growing anxious at the thought of discussing everything I'm going through with these kids. A young girl in the front, probably only twelve or thirteen, raises her hand hesitantly. "Are you going to teach us how to fight?"

I give her a small smile, getting a grin in return from her that makes me feel weird at the way she views me. "No, there are plenty of people here who can do that. I would suggest Darach if you want to really learn how to fight. But, I suppose I could be convinced to spare with you once the doctors clear me."

The girl beams in excitement at this and whispers to her friends, bringing a small smile onto my face. Maybe something good really can come out of my victory. "No, I'm here to tell you what you're going to face mentally. I didn't have that preparation and I wish I did."

I let out a shaky breath and stare down at my hands once more, anxiously wringing them together. When I look back up with blurry eyes, everyone is staring at me, waiting to hear every word I have to say. "The truth is…nothing can prepare you for what it's going to be like in the arena. Every moment is spent on guard, stressed out because you never know where an attack might come from. It could be someone you went out and searched for. It could be a mutt sent by the Gamemakers. It could be your own ally."

"Like Ryoko?" An older boy calls out when I fall quiet and I find him near the back, looking embarrassed for speaking out.

"Yes," I answer him.

"Or Lorelei!" A younger boy says this time and a few of the kids give an agreeance.

I nod my head at them, getting a bit more courage from the fact that they're all clearly listening and want to hear what I have to say. "Yes. And feel free to speak up at any point. I hate lectures, as I'm sure many of you also do." I smile a little when a few of the kids laugh at this. "We're here to actually talk about things. Things…that we should have been talking about a while ago."

A girl in the middle of the group hesitantly raises her hand, clearly uncomfortable by the others looking over at her. But she keeps her gaze on me, even as her face shows her nervousness. "Glacia…what was it like to actually kill someone?"

The girl can't be older than fifteen, yet she's already thinking about what it's like to kill… _But isn't that the whole point of me talking to them about this stuff?_ "In the moment…it's all instinct," I answer honestly, hating myself a bit for that realization. "Once your adrenaline gets going, your training kicks in and you just fight and survive. But after…after is when it hits you. And it hits you _hard_."

I let out a shaky breath, trying to hold it together and not break down in front of these kids. "But…" I start and have to stop, hearing my voice shake as I look out at them. Some of their faces are no longer excited, mainly the older kids, as they realize that they could be the one killing someone. "No matter what anyone says, there's no way you can kill someone and not feel _something_ about it. It might be guilt, knowing they had a family back home who was rooting for them, just like yours will be. Family that will never see their loved one again, all because of you." I choke back a sob at this, realizing just terrible it's been avoiding Maylene, unable to face her with the knowledge that I killed Lance. "But you find a way to cope with that guilt, even if it feels so overwhelming at times that you don't know why anyone thinks you deserve to be the victor."

A tear falls down my cheek and I try to discretely wipe it away, not wanting them to see me like this. One of the youngest girls in the front stands up, pulling out a small pack of tissues from her pocket and offering them to me. "They're for my allergies but I think you need them more. And you do deserve to be victor."

"Thank you," I whisper to her, not sure if for the tissues or what she said, as she returns to her seat. I blow my nose before looking up at them again, ready for looks of pity but getting looks of concern instead. "See what I mean? I can't even talk about it without feeling immense guilt and getting overwhelmed."

"Glacia?" A timid voice calls out and I look around for a younger boy sitting in the back, face bruised up from probably boxing lessons, based on his age. "You said everyone copes. How are you coping?"

"By being here and talking to you," I respond to him before taking the time to look out at all of them. "I want you to be better prepared than I was. I have no clue if this will work. But if there's a small chance I can help…I'm going to take it." I shrug at this before looking at the victors in the back of the room. "And I know I have the other victors to provide support to me."

"That's something you can count on when you exit the arena," I smile at Darach briefly before turning back to the students. "No matter what happens or what you might have to do to survive, the victors will be waiting to help you. _I'll_ be waiting to help you. I promise that we will be here to help you get through."

* * *

 **And we're almost done with this story! All that's left is a short epilogue on the day of the victory tour, just to check in one last time with Glacia. It's really crazy that this story is already so close to ending.**

 **What do you think about Glacia's new training idea? Think it will help protect the volunteers?**

 **Well, the epilogue is already written so I will see you in a few days to wrap up this story!**


	21. Together

**Epilogue:**

 _Six Months Later_

"I should have known I would find you here."

I glance over towards the door as I head down the range to grab my spear out of the target. Bulls eye, just like the previous ten throws today. Still, there's just something mind numbing about just going in and hitting targets, something I especially need today when we leaving in a few hours to head to District Eleven and the start of my Victory Tour.

But the person standing there makes me come to a stop.

"Maylene," I say quietly, completely shocked to see her standing there. Hard not to when I haven't seen her once since I returned. Both of us have done a great job at avoiding the other.

She starts walking towards me, face full of hesitation and determination. "So you leave today?" She asks as she reaches a few feet away from me, stopping and just staring at me. I nod my head, even though everyone knows the tour is starting today. Preparations have been going on for weeks now for the celebration when we get back. "I remember the day I left. I was really looking forward to getting back to the Capitol. Claudia was so nice and actually called me frequently, checking in and asking how we had adjusted to life away from our father."

"She hasn't called me," I respond as I finally grab my spear before returning it to the stand.

"Guess she likes me more," Maylene responds, a hint of humor in her tone. But when I turn to look back at her, the humor is all gone, leaving behind only sadness. Sadness that I caused.

"I'm sorry."

Maylene shakes her head at me as a tear slips down her face. She wipes it away, letting out a small scoff. "Don't apologize to me. We're both victors and know that 21 of the kids aren't making it out."

"I was still the one to kill him," I answer her, feeling my throat tighten in pain that I had been able to start to slowly push aside over the past six months.

"And he very nearly killed you," Maylene sighs as she sits down on the bench nearby, patting the spot next to her. I hesitate for a few seconds, still unsure why she has sought me out today. But I finally take a seat next to her and we both stare in front of us for a minute. "I wanted to come and talk to you before you left on the tour."

"We haven't talked since before the Reaping…" I say, unsure what else to tell her since she already told me not to apologize for killing Lance.

From the corner of my eye, I see her nod her head in agreeance at this. "Yes. I didn't really want to talk to you for a while after you got back. It hurt too much to even think about seeing you and being reminded that he's gone. But you also didn't try to talk to me."

"I wanted to," I say quickly to defend myself and she glances over, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. "But my Grandma suggested that I wait until you came to me to talk."

"She's a good woman," Maylene mutters and I find myself nodding my head in agreement. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her. "She actually came by right after you won to see how I was doing."

Now this surprises me. Not that Grandma would do that, but that she hadn't told me. I let out a sigh at this, "She's a very good person. She never deserved to be sent into the arena."

"Most of them don't," Maylene responds sadly and I know she's thinking about Lance.

"Lance didn't deserve to be sent either," I say suddenly, needing to let her know that I wish he wasn't sent in.

Maylene stares at me, her expression unreadable. "Are you saying you _did_ deserve to be sent in?"

"I would rather someone who trained and wants to be there be sent in," I answer her, thinking about what could have happened in the Reaping. "We could have had a twelve-year-old with no desire to ever train and volunteer go into the arena instead of me. But Lisia made sure that didn't happen."

"What?"

I shake my head at her, silently begging her not to ask more. It was stupid of me to even say that much. "Please don't ask any more about it or tell anyone."

I watch her for a few seconds and see the exact moment in her eyes when she figures out that Lisia rigged the Reaping for me and Lance. Rage sparks in her eyes before quickly being extinguished, replaced with sadness. "Well, there is nothing we can do to change the past. I guess…I don't know exactly why I found you today. I just knew I was finally ready to talk to you. And…well, I guess I don't blame you for what you did. But obviously I still wish my brother was alive today."

We sit once more in silence for a minute and I can't help but realize how relieving it is to know that Maylene doesn't absolutely hate me. For months, I've been filled with guilt over Lance and wanted to say something to her, yet everyone told me not to approach Maylene. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For talking to me," I respond, trying to give her a small smile. "I still feel so guilty for what I did, not just to Lance but everyone in that arena. But it's nice to know that at least one of the seven families I'm about to face doesn't blame me."

Maylene purses her lips at this as I think about the upcoming tour, feeling dread at going to One and Seven especially, because I killed both tributes in those Districts.

"I've heard what you've been doing with the top five," Maylene mentions and I look over at her curiously. "It's good to know someone cares about our mental health. I think they'll be prepared this year."

I let out a shaky sigh at this. Just last week, Kat decided with the other victors – even asking me, despite me only winning a few months ago – who will be volunteering. The two don't know yet, and won't know until after the victory tour is over. But I can only hope that something I'm telling them helps them out. "I'm worried for them."

"So am I," Maylene says, surprising me a little since she hasn't been in the training center since I won. "It's why I can't mentor. I don't think I could handle knowing these kids for years and then watching them die."

"I don't want to mentor ever," I mutter, shaking my head even at the thought of it.

"Well luckily for us," Maylene starts, giving me a small smile, "There will always be someone else to mentor."

"Glacia?" A man calls out from the door and we both look over to see Darach standing there, looking unsure if he should be interrupting. I smile over at him and he takes a few steps in. "Maylene. Good to see you."

"You too," Maylene answers and turns to me as Darach approaches. "I should get going. But…if you would like to talk more when I get back, you're more than welcome."

"I will," I tell her honestly as she stands up. I smile up at her, genuinely happy that she did stop by today and feeling significantly less guilt. "Thank you."

"Have fun on your tour and I'll see you at the festival," Maylene nods her head at me and then nods at Darach before leaving us behind, both a little confused about that happening.

"Well, I came to see if you were ready to head home," Darach starts and trails off, staring at the empty door Maylene left through. "But I wasn't expecting that."

"Neither was I," I tell him as I stand up, turning to look up at him. "But I'm glad she did talk to me, even if for only a few minutes." I let out a sigh though, still dreading going on the tour and seeing the families of the kids I killed. "When will I stop feeling so guilty about everything? Or stop waking up every night from nightmares of being turned to stone or of losing and watching my family react?"

Darach just shrugs at this, sticking his hands into his pockets. "I still every once in a while wake up from a nightmare of me burning in the lava and hear the screams of the one who was killed in it. But eventually the pain dulls and you just kind of get used to it always being there."

"But it never goes away?"

"Not really," Darach shakes his head at this and a rare bit of pain and sadness cross his face. "But, it's worth it to see new victors return home, especially when you were the one to mentor them."

"Victors like me?" I grin at him and elbow him, getting a small chuckle from him.

"Yes, victors like you," Darach says, a smile forming on his face. "But now, my victor, we must get going or we're going to face Flannery's rage if we're late."

"We certainly wouldn't want that," I respond as we start walking towards the door but I let out a sigh at the thought of the victory tour. "Can we just skip the Districts and go right to the Capitol? Or better yet, just stay here in Two?"

Darach laughs loudly at this, making me smile a bit. "I agree with you there. But there's no force of nature that will stop Flannery from dragging us onto that train."

I just shrug, knowing he's right. We'll just have to wait for the enjoyable party back in Two. But as we leave the training center and start walking the short distance back home, I start grinning up at Darach as an amusing thought passes through me. "Hey Darach?"

Darach starts shaking his head as soon as he sees the look on my face. "Whatever you're going to say, I don't like it already."

"Are you going to dance with me at our party?" I ask and start laughing when he grimaces immediately. I elbow him in the side, enjoying seeing him look so miserable at the thought of dancing. "Come on, it's tradition for mentors to dance with their victors. Weren't you just saying a few minutes ago how you like getting victors like me?"

"There is nothing you can do that will get me to dance," Darach responds, voice devoid of emotion and face looking as miserable can be.

"Oh I'll find something," I assure him, already starting to think of ways to convince him. He grumbles something, only making me chuckle. "Well Darach, you have twelve days to practice your dancing."

"I'm not dancing with you," he stubbornly responds to this. "Why don't you focus on getting through the tour instead?"

"I am," I tell him as the Victor's Village comes into sight in the distance. "I need something to look forward to at the end of this tour so I don't feel immense guilt in the Districts."

Darach lets out a loud sigh at this before finally looking over at me. "Fine, but only one song. And I'm only doing this because I told you we would get through this together and I'm sticking to my word."

"Thank you," I say, growing serious at what he said. I reach out and take his hand, so grateful that he's stuck by me through everything since we've returned. He flinches at my touch at first before relaxing, giving it a small squeeze before smiling at me. "You have no idea how helpful you've been."

"Well, I made another promise to your grandmother to watch out for you when we returned," he says, leaving me surprised for a second time today about something Grandma did. "And I promised myself that I wouldn't abandon you. I saw throughout the games how they were changing you, and I knew I needed to help you. So we're doing this thing together."

I nod my head at him, not quite knowing what I deserved to have someone looking out for me as much as Darach does. Maybe something good actually came out of all this pain and guilt from being sent into the Quarter Quell. If I hadn't been picked, who knows what I would be doing now? And who knows what Darach would be like? Probably still keeping his emotions locked up, refusing to let anyone in. Just as much as he's helped me, I've somehow helped him.

But…I have no doubt that the next few days and even years are going to be incredibly tough. I absentmindedly touch the scar on my side, nearly faded from the Capitol's technology, but still present, at my request. One last physical reminder of what I went through. And surely if I can survive the injury and nearly bleeding out, I can survive the guilt plaguing me. But luckily, I won't have to do it alone. I know I have Grandma, my mother, Darach, Roxanne, and now maybe even Maylene standing by me. I give Darach's hand another squeeze and I smile up at the man who helped me escape the arena.

"Together."

* * *

 **Well, here we are, the end of Glacia's story! I'm so happy with how this story turned out and really enjoyed showing how Glacia can change from a strong, stubborn volunteer to this broken victor who has realized that the Hunger Games were not what she anticipated. Glacia is probably my favorite of my own tributes I've ever written, so it's a little sad to see this story come to an end. But of course, this won't be the last of Glacia that we see.**

 **Thank you for reading through this story, especially if you've read both Glacia's and Lance's. I really hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. And if you enjoyed these stories, I really hope you'll check out some of my other stories I have going on right now. I'm not stopping anytime soon with writing Hunger Games stories. And you might just get to see our victor in a future story.**

 **Well, thanks again for going along on this crazy ride with me!**


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